Best Laid Plans
by Elizabeth Bartlett
Summary: Lorne thought that marriage and parenting would be no problem while on Atlantis. Yeah Right. R&R.
1. Prologue

A/N: I figured after whumping Major Lorne so bad in my last fic that he deserved a break/something good happening to him and I always wondered what Atlantis would be like if they had kids on it. That being said, I came up with a parenthood!fic...but I couldn't help but whump him a bit (I now know why so many people like to whump Shep...it's just so much _fun). _Anyhoo, this takes place during season three/four so there are spoilers and I vaguely refrence 'That Kind of Day' (my last Lorne whump fic) so you might want to jump over and read that. Standard Disclaimers for all chapters; Lorne, Carter, Shep, Beckett, ect. all belong to Cooper-Wright/MGM and are not mine (unfortunatly), Lyida belongs to BiteMeTechie, Crysta belongs to Nenya, Jason belongs to Reyclou, and I own Max. Read and please Review; seriously...tell me if I'm doing a bang-up job or...erm, not. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy watching Lorne deal with parenthood.

--

As they walked up the stairs towards the briefing room, Evan took Max's hand. "Everything's going to be fine." He assured her.

Max wasn't so sure, but realized that she needed to give them the benefit of doubt. Nervously smiling she asked, "Any regrets?"

"Nope."

"Me either."

Elizabeth saw them approach and motioned for them to enter. "Have a seat." She said, as they walked in.

Max couldn't help but glare at Woolsey, who sat with Colonel Sheppard and Doctor Beckett on one side of the room, as both she and Evan sat down on the opposite side.

They all sat in silence for a few minutes until Elizabeth, who was at the head of the table, spoke up. "While we expected this to happen eventually, given your situation, we uh...weren't expecting it to happen so soon."

"Well neither did we, I mean we talked about it…" Max replied, trailing off and a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Well…we're in uncharted territory here." Elizabeth said, in a neutral tone. "There are a number of things we need to consider."

"Such as?" Lorne asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, what the effects of Gate travel would be." Carson spoke up, training his eyes on the couple. "We're still not sure what could happen with Maxine going through the Gate as often as she does and while I don't see any problems occurring you never know."

"And there's the matter of your misbehavior." Woolsey spoke up, looking at them as well.

"What misbehavior? We got married on Earth, after the Ancients took back the city and after my contract was terminated." Max replied, looking at the IOA representative with a mixture of anger and confusion on her face. "So there shouldn't be any 'misbehavior' to consider."

"True," Elizabeth stated in diplomatic voice. "but you signed a new contract to continue teaching here and as a result your actions while on Earth need to be taken into consideration as well. I want you two to realize that you've put me in a very awkward position. I've had a handful of couples come to me about the possibility of starting families here and I've been very clear on the SGC policy about that. By making an exception for you is going to open a huge can of worms, one that we can't afford to deal with at the moment."

"We're far from the SGC and don't we do enough for Atlantis and Earth? Haven't we given up enough already?" Evan defended, realizing that Max's chances staying were becoming increasingly slim. "I've put the Air Force and my career ahead of everything else since I joined up but it wasn't until I came out here did I realize that life was too short to spend it alone." he continued, taking hold of Max's hand under the table and giving it a light squeeze. "Besides, we've been fairly quiet about the whole thing; we know that everyone else here can't have their spouses or families here with them and didn't want to flaunt it."

"And you haven't, but a few have come to either me or Doctor Weir expressing their concerns. There are also other things we need to consider; the biggest one being the Wraith." John said, looking at his second in command. "The Wraith threat is exactly why we can't have children in Atlantis."

"But the Wraith are exactly _why_ we should have children here." Max argued, looking at Woolsey and then Elizabeth. "To show them that we're not afraid to continue living our lives despite the dangers around us. Besides don't you think that once the other worlds we visit see we have children here they'd be more inclined to trade and ally with us?"

"What about when the due date nears?" Woolsey asked, pointedly ignoring the question. Although he had instructions from the other members of the IOA not to let the teacher remain, he had to pretend to hear things out.

"Well," Max glanced at Lorne before continuing. "obviously it's going to be hard for me to go back and forth as it gets closer and I don't want to stay in the Athosian settlement while Evan stays here. I was assuming, hoping actually, that someone else would be brought in and then once I'm done with maternity leave I could go back with them staying since I've been asking for extra help for a while."

"Out of the question." Woolsey said, shaking his head. "The IOA only agreed to have one teacher here."

"That does sound like it would work but I don't think the Athosians would welcome another teacher from the Expedition." Elizabeth said, ignoring Woolsey's response. "I mean, it took them almost the entire time you were here until we left to gain their trust and I don't think that they'll be very happy about having someone else taking your place while you're on leave."

"Then we could get someone from the settlement to help out while I'm gone." Max replied, thinking fast. "There have been a number of Athosians who have asked about helping me. That way someone can replace me and then help out once I return, and it's someone that the Athosians know and trust to teach their children."

"And what about you Major?" Woolsey asked, his gaze sweeping over to the Major. "Can we trust that you're judgment won't be impaired while out in the field?"

Lorne bristled at the implication that the sentence meant and fought to control his anger; it wouldn't help their case if he lost his cool. "I assume you mean that if I'm off world while Max goes into labor would I drop everything to rush back." He leveled his gaze at the man across the table from him and continued, "When I'm out there the mission comes first and everything else after that."

Woolsey wasn't convinced. "You say that now, but what about when it happens?"

"I won't know until it does." Evan replied in a tight voice.

"What if Atlantis was under attack and you decided to make sure your family was out of harms way?"

"Max knows how to handle a gun and I'd stay where I was assigned to make sure whoever was attacking us wouldn't get through."

Elizabeth knew from the looks on both men that things were getting heated and she wanted to keep them from reaching boiling point. "This isn't something to consider lightly, and I think we all need to gain a little perspective." She said in a soothing tone. "True, having the Wraith present makes this a dangerous situation but Maxine doesn't go on missions all that often to begin with and I don't think that she'll be going on any in the near future. Also while it would be logical to have another teacher brought over while Maxine is on maternity leave, having one of the Athosians teach in her absence would be easier in the longer run not to mention it would be a huge step in improving relations with them."

"Don't tell me that you're agreeing with them, Doctor Weir." Woolsey sputtered, not liking the turn of events.

Elizabeth held up a hand while continuing, "I'm not agreeing with either side, I'm simply stating the facts. This isn't something that we can decide on with just one meeting."

Several days later...

"I hate all this waiting." Max said as she paced back and forth in their room.

"Relax; everything's going to be fine." Evan said from his seat on the couch although he wondered if it really was going to be.

Max just glowered at Evan and continued her pacing. "I don't see why they sent Woolsey since they've obviously made up their mind." Glancing out the window she wondered how much longer it would take. "I still think they're only doing this because I told them where to shove it when they asked me to report on stuff going on here."

"Not necessarily-"

"That's what you think." Max broke in, her already bad mood worsening.

Evan saw that he wasn't helping and decided to wisely keep his mouth shut; he didn't want to end up sleeping on the couch again.

After a few minutes of silence Evan's earpiece chirped, "_Major?_"

It was Doctor Weir.

He sat up and glanced at Max who had paused mid-stride. "Yes?"

"_I need you and Maxine to come to my office right away._"

"We're there." Lorne said, standing.

Max sighed, "Here we go."

All too soon they were walking into her office and sitting down across from the Expedition's leader. Max could feel her heart pounding in her chest and was getting the feeling that she would soon be Earth-side.

Elizabeth looked at the couple on the other side of her desk and didn't know if the decision that had been made would be good or bad for them. Giving them a nervous smile she said, "I know that you're anxious to know what decision has been made but I need to tell you a few things beforehand. First off, I want to let you know that it wasn't easy to reach one. We needed to consider the facts that were discussed earlier while also taking into account both of your records."

Max and Evan shifted slightly at the revelation of Elizabeth's last sentence. While Max hadn't done anything to marr her record, Evan had a number of infractions on his. None of them were truly serious, but they were on there just the same.

Elizabeth sensed their increased discomfort, "Woolsey brought them up but they had no bearing on mine or Colonel Sheppard's decision." She assured them. "There is also the fact that if we did send Maxine home then we would have to bring another teacher over or discontinue the school at the settlement. While I don't want either to happen it would be better if the Athosians had someone they know to teach their children while she's gone."

Evan shifted, wanting to know if Max was staying or leaving. "Can she stay or not?" he asked, his impatience getting the better of his restraint.

"I was just getting to that Major." Elizabeth said, the corner of her lips twitching in a slightly amused smile. "It took some convincing but with the President's and IOA's final approval Max can stay here."

"And what about the school?" Max asked, relieved that she wouldn't be leaving.

"It'll continue for the time being and if the rest of the IOA goes along with it then you can pick one of the Athosians to help you." Elizabeth said, noticing how both of the looked much more at ease then when they first arrived.

--

The next day Elizabeth heard a knock on the doorframe and looked up to see that it was Alex. Closing her laptop she motioned for Atlantis' head chef to come in. "Have a seat."

"You wanted to see me?" Alex asked once she was seated in front of the desk.

Elizabeth nodded, "I got the list of supplies from you the other day and noticed that there's more than normal. I was wondering why."

"Mind if I take a look?" Alex asked, reaching for the list. Elizabeth handed it to her and Alex quickly scanned it. Pointing to a number of items she said, "This stuff is for the shower." Her hand moved down. "And these are for the Major and Max; they want to store up some things ahead of time, just in case."

Elizabeth sighed, "I suppose we'll have to bump a few things to make room. Though the shower is going to be fun, because I know some of the personal requisitions are for baby gifts. Thank you Alex, that's all I wanted to know."

"It's going kablooie all of a sudden, isn't it?" Alex said as she set the list down on the desk.

"What do you mean?"

Alex shrugged, "Well, they've kinda opened the floodgates. I've overheard some other people talking marriage. And babies, though they're a little quieter about that-- more careful of being overheard. I'm thinking we may be seeing a lot of weddings in the near future and a lot of maternity leaves as well."

Elizabeth nodded, the realization hitting her. "Baby fever."


	2. Have a little faith

Eight months later…

Evan walked through the door and heard a 'thump' followed by cursing. Realizing that the sounds had come from the nursery he headed in that direction and as he neared the doorway saw that it was Max. "What are you doing?" Evan asked, raising an eyebrow.

Max sighed and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "I was trying to hang up your painting but you set the nail to damn high and it slipped."

Walking into the room, he walked over to the fallen painting and picked it up before she could. Setting it on top of the dresser he sighed, "You're not supposed to be up. Doctor Keller said-"

"I don't _care_ what Doctor Keller said." Max snapped, shooting Evan a stormy look. "I feel fine."

"You feel fine _because_ of the bed rest." Evan countered, knowing he was starting up the argument they've had since she was put on bedrest.

"God Evan, I've been stuck in here for three months; give me a break." Max replied, brushing past him and walking towards the living room.

"I'll give you a break when you're back in bed." He said following her. "Damn it Max, why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"Why do you have to be so protective?" she shot back, turning towards the window and looking out towards the ocean.

"Because I don't want anything to happen." Evan said, walking up to Max and taking her hand. "I almost lost both of you and I don't want that to happen again."

Max looked at him, understanding what the last sentence meant. It had been six months since the explosion's on that Sunday afternoon and while everything had returned to normal since then at the same time it hadn't. Max still missed Doctor Beckett and try as she might, she couldn't come around to Doctor Keller.

Sighing, Max looked at Evan and said, "Don't worry; I'm fine, our daughter's fine."

"No, everything's not fine. You're still recovering." Evan said, reminded of the fact that Max had been injured in the first explosion those long six months ago and no one knew who she was until it was too late.

"You're worse than my mother, you know. Remember what you said, 'we just need to have a little faith'." Max said, crossing her arms and looking at Evan like he was one of her students. "Well that's what I'm doing right now, having a little faith."

Evan wasn't happy that she was throwing his words back at him, but he silently admitted to himself that she was right. Opening his mouth to reply he was cut off when Max hissed in pain and pressed a hand to her stomach, slightly bending over. Concern in his voice he asked, "You ok? Was it a contraction?"

"No, not a contraction." Max said through gritted teeth. Seeing Evan's panicked look made her smile through the pain; it wasn't everyday that she was able to make him panic like that. "Just chill, ok? I still have a few more weeks."

But Evan wasn't going to back down, this just made him more determined to get Max off of her feet. "No I won't, now get back into bed. I'll handcuff you if I have to."

Max grinned mischievously and quirked an eyebrow, "Is that a promise?"

Shaking his head, but smiling, he gently steered her towards their room and got her settled when a thought occurred to him. Sitting on the edge of the bed he asked, "How did you know it's a girl?"

"What do you mean?"

"Before, you said that our daughter's fine. I thought that you wanted it to be a surprise."

"I do. I got sick of calling it 'the baby' all the time and I have a fifty-fifty chance of being right." Max looked at Evan before asking, "Which reminds me, did you get it?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'll be right back." Evan got up and walked towards the nursery where he picked up the bag from the top of the dresser where he had set it earlier. Making his way back Evan said, "You're the only pregnant women I know who craves books instead of food."

"I've always been odd like that." Max replied, lighting up when she saw the brown paper bag. Stretching out a hand she took it and eagerly opened it. "Besides, I have to do _something_ while I'm cooped up here." Pulling out a book she smiled, "Ooo…a Queen Elizabeth I book. I haven't read this one."

"You're lucky I love you so much; those books cost me a case of beer and five chocolate bars."

"Is that what you paid for the books?"

"Yup."

Max laughed as Evan joined her in bed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards him. "Then you got gypped. Last batch of books I got only cost me a CD and three chocolate bars."

As much as Evan didn't want to smile he couldn't help but grin along, "Good thing I'm madly in love with you." Setting his free hand on Max's stomach he leaned in and kissed her. "Don't worry," he murmured after breaking the gentle kiss. "everything will be fine."

Max sighed and leaned her head against his shoulders, "I hope so."


	3. I'll be back before you know it

Evan tried to get ready quietly but Max woke up anyways. "What's wrong?" she asked sleepily, noticing that he was putting on his gear.

"Nothing, just getting ready for a mission." He assured her as he sat down on her side of the bed.

"Really?" she asked, slightly upset. Max didn't want him to leave so close to the due date, wanting him to be there when it happened. Part of her was scared that if he was gone then he wouldn't be there to reassure her if something went wrong.

But at the same time part of her wanted him to continue on as normal and not let anything get in the way of his job, since they were on thin ice with the IOA. Reasoning it to herself, if he asked for down time while waiting for the baby then the IOA would seize the opportunity and exploit it to their advantage; saying that Evan was shirking his duties, therefore becoming a risk to the safety of the Expedition and send Max packing.

Call it being paranoid or just having to much time to think about those kinds of things, either way Max didn't want to him leave. She was happy here and didn't want anything to change.

Kissing her softly he said, "I asked Lydia to keep an eye on you."

"Do you have to leave?" Max asked, kissing him again. She didn't want him go quite yet.

As much as he didn't want to go, Evan knew he needed to. When he saw the assignment his first thought was to go to Colonel Sheppard and ask that they push it back a few weeks so he could be here for Max. But he realized that if he did then it would show the IOA the chink in his armor and knew that they would use for their own gain. And Lorne felt that if he put the mission off until after the baby was born he might find it harder to leave than if he left now.

"As much as I don't want to, I have to." He said after kissing her again and standing. "But it's only for a few days. I'll be back before you know it."

Max knew it was a lost battle and sighed to herself as she watched Evan leave the room. A few seconds later she heard the door close and she hoped that he'd be back soon.

--

Evan made it to the Gate room just as the rest of his team did and the briefing was a short one, since the mission was a simple meet and greet with the locals. It was something that Lorne had done a number of times and he couldn't wait to finish it before it started.

Dancing on the heels of his feet, Lorne waited anxiously for the Gate to be dialed. It seemed to be taking forever and silently he wished that he was back in bed with Max, arms wrapped around her.

He then wondered if it was going to be like this after Max delivered; would he stop wanting to go through the Gate and eventually request a transfer back to Earth so he could spend more time with his family? If he stayed on Atlantis would it become so dangerous that he didn't want to risk their lives anymore and send them back home or would he continue to go through the Gate to fight the Wraith and Replicators? And if he continued with missions would he be so distracted with worry for the safety of his family that he wouldn't see the bullet or arrow with his name on it and die as a result?

As those thoughts flashed through his mind Evan could see what Woolsey had been trying to point out all those months ago. Was keeping Max here going to prove dangerous to the Expedition, and to himself, in the end?

"Major."

At the single word he jumped, startled out of his thoughts. "Jeeze Cadman, what was that for?" Evan asked, his heart still pounding from the start.

Laura raised an eyebrow, "Nothing sir." She knew exactly _why_ the Major was jumpy, and also knew that if she brought it up the Major would flat-out deny it. Turning towards the Gate, which had just sprung to life, Cadman wondered if Brice was right and they'd be done with the mission ahead of schedule.

If so, then she'd be ten bucks poorer.

As Evan stepped through the Gate he knew that he could put all his nervous energy into focusing on the mission at hand and just take things as they came. After scanning the surrounding area for anything out of the ordinary and was satisfied that everything was normal as could be Lorne and his team started to head towards the village where they would, for the next few days, hopefully gain a new trading partner.

"So Major, come up with a name yet?" Laura asked as they walked along a path in an open field.

"Not really." Evan replied as he looked around, something about this place gave him the creeps but he couldn't figure out why.

They had been to this planet before and until now he hadn't gotten that feeling that they were being watched. Maybe it was just because he was nervous to start with or because they really were being watched, from where he had no idea since it was all open field, but he still got the feeling that something was off. Evan unclipped his P90 from his vest, wanting to be ready in case something decided to happen.

"Something wrong sir?" Lieutenant Brice asked as he and Cadman mirrored Lorne's actions.

"Not at the moment, just want to be ready in case." Evan replied distractedly, his eyes roving over the landscape. "Something doesn't feel right; keep an eye out for anything strange."

"Yes sir." Laura said while Brice just nodded. As they continued to walk along, eyes and ears trying to pick up anything that might prove Lorne's theory, she wondered if he was just high-strung because of everything about to happen on Atlantis, if there really was something or someone watching them, or a combination of the two. Either way Laura knew that out here it was better to be safe than sorry.


	4. Oh Boy

"Are you sure about this?" Lydia asked as they walked towards the cafeteria.

"Of course." Max replied, glad for a change of scenery. "I needed to get out and stretch my legs." Evan had been gone for two days and was scheduled to return that evening. While he was away Max had tried to behave herself and stay in bed but in the end she became so restless that she needed a change of scenery or she would've gone stir-crazy.

Lydia glanced at her friend with a raised eyebrow. "But-"

"If you say the words 'Doctor Keller' I might have to hurt you." Max threatened while frowning. But she wasn't worried, Lydia was a slight push-over when it came to pregnant women and the feeling had only increased since she had become one herself. Max knew what buttons to push.

"-what am I going to tell Evan?" Lydia finished calmly, as though Max hadn't snapped at her.

Max shrugged and winced slightly as something twinged; she couldn't wait until all the aches and pains of pregnancy were gone. That and she could finally wear normal sized shoes again. "Nothing, 'cause he's not going to ask when he sees that I'm in bed." She replied as they rounded the corner and the cafeteria doors came into view.

Inwardly Max sighed that they didn't have far to go, she got easily winded after being stuck in bed for three months with not much to do other than grading and reading. Even then she didn't have much grading to do since Jodie was doing the majority of it. Max was glad that she had done well in picking her Athosian helper; the young women loved the children and had been eager to learn, picking it up well.

"I feel like I swallowed a beach ball." She groused, awkwardly sitting down.

"Well it does look like you did." Lydia replied, smiling at the remark. "Are you sure it's not twins?"

"Unfortunately no." Max said, rubbing her back which had been bothering her all day. "No matter how much it would be worth to see the look on Evan's face when he found out he had twins." Noticing that people around them were casting glances towards them her amusement was short lived. "Jeeze, you'd think that people here have never seen a pregnant lady before." She grumbled, feeling her face turn red.

"Relax, they're just surprised to see you up and around since you've been confined for so long." Lydia said, while shooting daggers at those who gawked long enough to make eye contact.

"Yeah well," Max smirked. "you'll get the same when you start to show."

Lydia frowned when she realized that it was true. "Speaking of, I've been thinking."

"I'm gonna regret this aren't I?"

"Hey, when have I ever been wrong? Wait don't answer that." Lydia added quickly when she saw a twinkle in Max's eye.

"What? I wasn't going to say anything." Max replied trying to suppress a grin and failing.

"Yes you were, but we're getting off topic. Let's face it; Atlantis isn't the safest place to raise a family. Have you thought about what'll happen to baby Lorne if both you and the Major buy the farm?"

Max frowned at Lydia's question. She hadn't expected Lydia to bring up the topic but shouldn't have been surprised; her friend was married to the resident dare-devil after all. "No, not really." She admitted.

"Same for us until baby Spunky here entered the equation." Lydia said, slightly sighing. "What I mean is if something happens to both Jay and me...I-_we_ want you and Lorne to look after the tyke."

Max was speechless, not knowing what to say. "I, uh...wow." she stammered after clearing her throat. "I don't know what to say."

"Yes would be nice."

Max smiled, "Of course I would. And I'm sure that Evan would as well."

Lydia beamed at the answer, "That's great. We can have the papers drawn up later after Lorne gets back and we talk to him-what's wrong?" she asked, noticing that Max suddenly looked troubled. Assuming that the thought of Lorne being hurt or killed while on his current mission had crossed her friend's mind Lydia rushed to squish those doubts. "Don't worry, I'm sure that Cadman and Brice wouldn't let anything happen to him and everything's fine."

Max shook her head, "No...that's not it."

Lydia was puzzled, more so than normal. "If that's not then..." she trailed off as realization dawned over her. Her mouth going dry she had to swallow a few times before croaking out, "Oh no."

"Oh yes." Max said, panic replacing pain.

--

"Simple mission my ass." Lorne grumbled from across the room from Cadman, glowering at her.

"Don't blame me. It's not my fault there was a coup between the time we Gated over and walked to the village." Laura said from her side of the prison wall.

Lorne frowned but didn't reply, knowing that the Lieutenant was right. At least aside from a few bruises and cuts they were all relatively unharmed. But that didn't mean that they were out of the woods yet.

They had been greeted on the outskirts of town with not the friendly reception they had expected, but instead at gun point. Once the (not so) welcome wagon had disarmed them, Lorne and his team had been shoved into the usual dank, semi-dark cell while being locked up in chains against the wall.

So far it wasn't anything new to anyone on his team, but after the first two check-in times had passed the Major knew that Atlantis would wonder what was up. But they wouldn't do anything until they failed to come back and they really started wondering what was going on.

Evan just hoped that they sent a team before something bad happened.


	5. Just a Little White Lie

"I knew that it was a bad idea." Lydia said as they walked down the hallway. "But did you listen to me? No."

"Oh, be quiet." Max replied, rolling her eyes. "I swear you and Evan could take on my mother when it comes to worrying about me. It was a false alarm and Doctor Pierce said that everything was fine."

"He also said that you shouldn't have been out of bed and to go back there. Do not pass 'Go' do not collect two hundred dollars."

Max sighed, "Fine…fine. But only because I'm tired and want to make sure I'm back before Evan."

"Thank you was that so hard?"

Max opened her mouth to respond but hesitated when she heard that the Gate had been activated. Checking her watch she frowned, "Crap, he's back early."

Lydia shifted, not knowing what to say. While they were in the infirmary Jay had radioed her to let her know that Lorne and his team had been silent for the last two days. After hearing that Lydia gave Doctor Pierce a heads-up and he said not to tell Max anything, the shock or added worry could send her into an early labor.

So right now she kept a smile on and said, "Then let's get back."

It didn't take them long to arrive and soon Max was back in bed. Sighing she looked at Lydia and said, "I guess I'll-what are you doing?"

Lydia grinned as she flopped onto the bed next to her friend, "Let's face it, once this kid of yours decides to appear we're gonna see a lot less of each other and that's going to drop dramatically once mine shows up." Lydia stretched and turned on her side to face Max. "So, I'm making the most of what we've got. Besides it'll be a while until that husband of yours appears and I know the moment I leave you'll be back on your feet."

Max shook her head and smiled. "The scary thing is that you know me too well. So tell me, how did Jay take it when you told him?"

"Pretty good actually, but you should've seen McKay; his reaction was priceless. I don't think he's ever been silent for so long." Lydia laughed at the memory as Max giggled along. "And he turned so white I thought he was going to pass out."

"Do you think yours'll have the ATA gene?" Max asked after they had calmed down.

"I hope not, I mean just think of all the trouble the baby could get in here."

"But Jason would be so proud of the kid. Especially if it would annoy McKay."

Lydia was silent for a moment, considering the thought. "You know on the other hand it would be nice if the kid had the gene." She commented, smiling.

"I thought so."

"What about you?"

Max shrugged, "I don't know; since I don't have it and he does it could go either way." Sighing she put a hand on her bulging stomach. "Right now I just want her to be fine."

Lydia raised an eyebrow at the last sentence; last time she had talked with Max they didn't want to know if it was going to be a boy or girl. "So you know that it's going to be a girl then?"

"Not really…I just think that it would be nice to have a girl; I'd get to braid her hair and pick out cute outfits-"

"deal with boyfriends, break-ups, her calling you old…everything that we did when we were younger." Lydia broke in, shuddering at the thought. "I hope that I have a boy, let Jay deal with all that stuff."

--

To say that Evan was angry would be an understatement. He was off-world, locked and chained up, sporting more than a few bruises and cuts, and his wife was about to go into labor at any moment.

So yeah…he was pissed.

Glancing at his watch Lorne could see that their return time had long since passed. So now they were still here; in prison, waiting for the damn cavalry to show up. Wincing at the sharp pain in his wrists, which had been rubbed raw from his shackles, he looked towards Cadman and asked, "Think you can pick the locks?"

Laura shook her head, "Sorry sir."

Evan growled in frustration, this was turning out to be one long headache. Before he could come up with anything else there was a loud 'clank' as the bolt on the cell door was drawn back. The door opened and five men walked in, heading towards them.

He wasn't surprised, they had come before, but he found it slightly disturbing that they were coming for all three of them. Soundlessly they unlocked their chains and dragged them out into the hallway. As they walked along Evan started to get the feeling that things were going to get worse before they got better.

--

Max woke up to the sound of low voices and opened her eyes only to see that it was still dark. A glance at the clock on the night stand told her that it was just past three in the morning. Wondering what was going on, she sat up and noticed that she was by herself. Seeing a light on in the living room, she wondered why Evan hadn't just joined her when he got back.

Standing she made her way into the room while saying, "You didn't have to sleep on the couch you know." Max saw that it wasn't Evan in the room, but Lydia and Jason. "What's going on? Where's Evan?"

Lydia looked at Jason, asking the silent question if she should lie or tell her friend the truth; that Evan might not survive the day. They had fallen asleep waiting for the Major to come back and it was only a few minutes ago that Jason had come over and, after waking her, told her everything.

After their return time had passed Carter had tried to contact the officials of the town that they were going to start trading with but had been unsuccessful in getting anyone to give her a straight answer. Then a few hours ago they had contacted Atlantis, letting Carter and Sheppard know that Lorne and his team were alive...for now.

From what Jay told her, Lydia knew that there had been a coup just after they had arrived, with the new leaders very xenophobic and that the team had unknowingly walked into, what had suddenly become, hostile territory.

Now the new leaders were holding the Major and the rest of his team and more than willing to kill them. They weren't demanding any ransom and from what Lydia understood Carter's hands were tied, rendering the Major and everyone else helpless.

Lydia knew that if she told Max the truth it could bring her to near panic and if she didn't then she would be lying to a close friend. But sometimes a lie was better than the truth.

So she lied.

"They got delayed and won't be back until later."

"How much later?" Max asked, wondering why Jason had come all the way over here to tell Lydia that when telling her over the headset would've been more practical.

"The Major didn't say; could be a few hours, could be a few days." Jason said, sparing Lydia the need to lie even more. Although technically they weren't lying since in reality Lorne and his team _were_ being delayed and they didn't know _when_ they'd be back. They were just telling the truth...and leaving out certain details that Max didn't need to worry about.

--

Max frowned, wondering why Evan's trip was taking longer than estimated; he had told her three days and then he'd be back. So why was it taking longer than that? From what he had been able to tell her it was just a simple 'get to know you' mission with people they'd met before.

That had been four days ago and Max couldn't help but worry that something was wrong. "_Maybe it was wrong for me to stay here; I'm distracting Evan from his job._" Max thought. Closing the book that she had been trying to read she glanced out the window, watching the clouds drift by.

Something about the entire thing didn't sit right.

After freshening up, Max pulled her hair into a ponytail and stepped into the hallway, determined to find out what was really going on.

Samantha Carter heard someone knock and looked up to see Major Lorne's wife standing in the doorway. "Come in." Sam said, saving her report and closing her laptop.

"Sorry for interrupting." Max apologized as she awkwardly sat down. "I know how busy you can be sometimes."

"No problem, I needed a break." Sam replied, smiling. Although she hadn't really interacted with the teacher much since coming here, she knew that Doctor Weir had made strides with the Athosians by allowing one of them to fill in while Maxine was away. In fact it had been the Athosians that introduced them to the town that now held the Major and his team captive. But Sam didn't want to think about who was at fault at the moment. "What can I do for you?"

Max shifted slightly, trying to become comfortable and not sure how to ask her question. Sure she could just ask but Max didn't know if she'd get a straight answer from Sam. It had been a few months since she took over for Doctor Weir and Colonel Sheppard but Max hadn't really had much opportunity to test the waters with Carter because not long after she had arrived Max had been confined to bed.

But now she'd take the plunge and get to the bottom of this. "I know that you can't tell me everything, but is Evan alright?" she asked, somewhat hesitantly.

Sam regarded the women in front of her; someone who was willing to stay and raise a family even though there were so many dangers just on the other side of the Gate. During the briefing to catch Sam up on everything, Jennifer Keller had told her that Max had been hurt in the explosions that had killed Carson and so many others and in all the confusion and chaos there hadn't been time to ID everyone one who was unconscious so as a result she had been under for some time until someone recognized her.

While there hadn't been any complications so far, Keller had told Sam that there was still a chance that something could go wrong. Sam wondered that if she told Max the truth about Lorne's situation that it could cause one of those complications. "What do you mean?" Sam asked, trying to put on an expression of confusion and hoping that Max would buy if.

No such luck.

"He's been gone four days." Max said, wondering what was going on. If anyone would know it would be Colonel Carter. "He said that he'd only be gone three and this morning Jason was talking to Lydia and they both told me that Evan and his team had been delayed, but they didn't know for how long."

Sam shifted in her seat neither confirming nor denying what she had just heard, because she had told John's cousin to say exactly that.

Max could sense Sam's sudden apprehension and wondered if she had unknowingly hit a nerve. "I mean, you don't have to tell me everything; I just want to know if he's ok."

Sam gave Max what she hoped was a reassuring smile and opened her mouth to stretch the truth a bit more when she heard the sound of the Gate springing to life. Standing quickly and striding out of (what had become) her office and down the stairs towards the control panel, reaching it in time to hear the sounds of gun-fire and shouts over the radio.

"It's Colonel Sheppard's IDC." Chuck said to Sam, answering her, yet, unasked question.

"What's going on Colonel?" Carter asked loudly, trying to be heard over the noise.

"_We've got the Major and his team; they're all right just banged up a little,_" she heard Sheppard yell. "_but we've also got a few of the locals as well._" As he finished speaking a burst of gunfire was heard by everyone listening.

Sam heard movement behind her and turned around to see that Max had followed her down and must have heard John's report because her face blanched and her eyes went wide with fear. But Sam didn't have time to deal with Max at the moment. Turning back around, she said, "Lower the shield and let Keller know that we have wounded coming in." Speaking up Sam yelled, "You're clear Sheppard!"

Almost as soon as the shield was lowered bullets started coming through and started ricocheting wildly. People ducked to avoid the wayward bullets but some were slower than others; those who had just arrived on the Apollo and were still getting used to the fact that things could become chaotic in such a short space of time, those who weren't around any kind of cover when the shooting started, or those who were simply slower than everyone else.

Amid the sounds of bullets striking the equipment in the room there were a few cries of shock and pain as people were struck by stray bullets, and those who were unharmed tried to make their way to those that were without becoming wounded themselves.

Sam ducked her head automatically as another bullet 'pinged' off of the control panel, although she knew that it wouldn't have done her any good if it hadn't hit the panel. "_Some things never change._" She thought to herself.

When bullets started flying Max was quick to duck but it hadn't been easy getting down. Now she was trying to not get hit while at the same time trying to find a comfortable position, but nothing seemed to work. She felt a sharp stab of pain and tried to control her breathing as it slowly faded away. Soon it was gone and Max hoped that Evan would make it through the Gate alive.

--

They were running for their lives, Evan knew that much. He also knew that if they managed to capture them again things wouldn't go so easy for them the second time around. So far they had been lucky; only bruises and cuts, nothing that couldn't be fixed. But anything could happen between now and the Gate, Evan also knew that as well.

"We're clear!" Teyla shouted as they neared the Gate.

Evan inwardly sighed with relief, almost there. He turned around and fired a string of bullets at those giving chase, continuing to move back as he did. A few of the crowd fell but the 'Lantians were still outnumbered no matter how many were knocked down.

"Major let's go!" John shouted from his position by the DHD. Everyone except himself, Lorne and Ronon had gone through and he knew that if the Major got hurt there'd be hell to pay later on.

Evan turned around after firing one last round at their chasers and was halfway to the DHD when he collapsed. "_What the hell?_" he asked himself as he got a face full of dirt and rough scrub. Then he realized his leg felt like it was on fire. Turing around while still on the ground, he saw that there was a trickle of something starting from his calf and trailing down. Then he realized that the trickle was blood.

"_Shit._"

He'd been shot.


	6. Dead Man Walking

"_Great…this is just great. I let the Major get hit. I'm a dead man._" John thought as he fired bullets towards the advancing horde. There went his five day record of not getting anyone hurt while off world. Crouching, Sheppard made his way towards the fallen Major while trying not to get shot himself. Reaching Lorne relatively unscathed, he asked, "Can you walk?"

"Dunno, let's find out." Evan replied, struggling to stand. He managed to get upright and then put half of his weight on his injured leg to see if it would hold. It didn't and Lorne crumpled towards the ground.

John caught the Major just in time and slung an arm over his neck, "I guess that's a no." They then started towards the Gate as fast as they could while Ronon laid down cover fire. They made it past the DHD and up the stairs as fast as Lorne's injury allowed them, hoping that the locals wouldn't get lucky a second time.

Evan dragged a foot and tripped. John's grip wasn't that strong on him and he slid from the man's grasp. Lorne barely avoided smashing his face onto the stone steps by rolling to the side as he fell.

John almost went down when the Major took a spill and fell to his knees wincing as they connected with the sharp edges of the stone steps. But he was back up in a heartbeat and put the Major's arm around his neck again and helped him limp up the stone steps.

They stumbled through the Gate and John shouted, "Get the shield up!" It took a minute since Chuck had disappeared, but in the end it was raised and soon the Gate shut down.

As the Gate was being shut down John passed Lorne off the medical staff who were off to the side of the room and turned around to face the Gate as heads started to rise like the gophers from a 'Wack-A-Mole' game.

He saw that they hadn't been the only ones to get through before the shield went up.

Before there was time to react the trigger was pulled and John felt his shoulder jerk back as the bullet impacted. Moving with the force of the hit, he slightly stumbled against the steps leading towards the upper level of the Control Tower and tripped backwards on them.

Those who had guns with them fired at the lone gunman and as he fell back, he squeezed the trigger of his gun one last time and managed to fire off a bullet before hitting the floor.

----

Max wanted to know what was taking them so long to come through. Almost everyone had emerged from the Gate with John, Ronon, and Evan still missing. And it didn't do anything to reassure her that bullets were still zinging around.

What was taking them so long?

Max was torn out of her thoughts by a sharp exclamation. Looking to where the sound had come from she saw that Chuck had been hit in the arm. From her vantage point it looked like nothing more than a graze, but you never could tell.

"You ok?" Chuck asked Max, who looked like she was in pain, as she awkwardly sat down next to him.

"I'm fine…you're not." Max said, trying to focus on something else except the pain. It felt like someone was trying to punch out of her a lá _Alien_. "Here, lemme take a look."

"You don't have to, it's just a scratch." He replied as Max ripped his sleeve away in order to get a better look.

Max raised an eyebrow at the comment, "That doesn't look like a scratch to me." She maneuvered around so it wasn't so awkward while she tried to stop the bleeding.

Dimly she heard voices shouting but paid them no mind; people were bound to be shouting at the moment trying to figure out what had happened and who needed immediate attention over who could wait. "Sorry." She apologized, ripping the sleeve off so she could make a rough bandage.

"That's ok, I have spares." Chuck replied with a grin.

Max smiled and laughed, "I think we learn pretty quickly around here to have spares."

Next thing Max knew she was on the ground feeling like a red-hot knife had passed right through her side.


	7. Only on Atlantis I

Evan heard the gunshot and ducked as did everyone else, hoping that the wayward bullet wouldn't hit them. Not feeling any new pain, he was relived that he hadn't gotten hit a second time. Hearing shouts up by the Control Panel, Evan wonder who had been hurt but couldn't see because of the flurry of activity up there.

As they wheeled his towards the entrance Evan caught a glimpse of Pierce running up the steps as fast as he could while shouting directions at the same time. Twisting around so he could get a look at what was going on behind him but was still unable to because of the angle he was at and because people were still running around.

--

Max was in pain.

Her body ached and the pain in her side wouldn't go away. She distantly heard someone shout and then footsteps. "_What's all the commotion about?_" she asked herself, wincing slightly as she felt another stab of pain, this one much sharper and painful than before.

"Max?"

It took a second for her to register that someone was calling her name. "Max can you here me?"

"Max." It was a different voice; this one much older than the first. And it sounded familiar to her, but try as she might Max couldn't place it. "She's been hit, I can't tell how deep it is. We need to get the bleeding slowed down as much as we can before moving her."

Closing her eyes Max felt like she could sleep for a month. All she wanted to do was sleep.

"Damn it...stay with me here Max." Max then realized that the voice belonged to Kevin Pierce. "This is going to hurt a little. Just relax."

Searing pain rushed through her body and Max's eyes shot open as she gasped. It faded almost as quickly as it had come and she glanced at Kevin, confusion in her eyes. She saw that he looked relieved to see her staring back at her and Max also noticed that his hands were bloody. At first she wondered whose blood was on his hands but then it all came rushing back to her.

"_Oh God Oh God Oh God._" She thought to herself, eyes widening at the realization. Panic welled up inside of her and as they gently lifted her onto a stretcher she grabbed one of Kevin's wrists, whose hands were pressed up against her side, and tried to ask a question but it only came out as another gasp.

To say that Kevin was relieved when Max opened her eyes was an understatement. He had been nearing the Control Tower when the last shot had fired but it wasn't until someone, he forgot who, ran towards him and told him that the Major's wife had been hit did he increase his pace.

Since there was only one Major's wife currently on Atlantis it didn't take a genius to figure out who it was and Kevin sprang into action. When he had gotten there, he knew that he had act fast. It was only a slight miracle that when he tried to staunch the bleeding it seemed to revive her.

Now they were trying to beat the clock.

As they started to put her on a stretcher everything that had happened must have caught up with her brain and she started to panic. About what Kevin had a good idea even though she tried to tell him. "Don't worry," he soothed as they slowly made their way down the stairs. "I'll do my best."

As soon as they were off the last step the wheels were lowered and they ran the stretcher out into the hallway, yelling for people to get out of the way.

--

Lorne was waiting for his turn in the transporter to the infirmary when he heard the clatter. Looking down the hallway he saw that they were coming up fast and it looked like whoever they had was wounded pretty badly. Evan spotted Kevin and realized that it must be the person that had gotten that last bullet.

As they got closer the others who were waiting with Lorne were pushed to the side and when they slowed down Evan got a look at who it was. Immediately wished he hadn't.

"Max!" Lorne exclaimed, reaching for her. Two nurses held him back and he fought them. Max hadn't moved when Evan said her name and he feared that she was already gone, but a larger part of him that refused to believe it; not after all they had gone through. He realized that they weren't going to let him near her at the moment, so Evan gave up the fight to be at her side and sat dejected on the stretcher. Tears stinging his eyes he looked at Doctor Pierce, asking a silent question.

Kevin danced on the heels of his feet while they were waiting for the transporter, every second they delayed could mean a second between life and death. Then he caught Evan's eyes, tears forming, asking him silently if they would be all right.

"It's too soon to tell, but I'll do my best." He said softly, knowing that the Major trusted him.

Evan swallowed thickly and nodded, knowing that if he spoke then his voice would betray what he was feeling at the moment. "Max." he whispered, staring at her face.

Oddly enough that seemed to rouse her because she turned her head towards him, looking straight at him. Then her face contorted in pain and she tried to sit up, clenching her teeth and hissing sharply.

Kevin was slightly taken aback when Max moved on him, "Easy Max...just relax." He said, trying to get her back down because he knew that she shouldn't be moving at the moment; with the bullet still inside it could shift and do more damage, even hurting the baby. "I know it hurts but I'll get the bullet out soon."

"It's not the bullet." Max said through gritted teeth, finally realizing what the pain was.

She was in labor.


	8. Only on Atlantis II

Kevin was slightly confused, and as someone who liked to know what was going on he didn't like it. If it wasn't her wound then what was hurting her so much? Then it hit him. "Max," he asked slowly, as if he was holding a normal conversation. "how long have you had those pains?"

Max eased a little as the contraction let up and tried to think. They had come off and on through out the day but after she had gone to talk with Samantha did they start to worsen. "Most of the day." She admitted.

"_Well that makes this a whole new ballgame._" Kevin thought to himself as the doors to the transporter finally slid open. As they turned Max around he spoke quickly, "We need to deliver the baby first."

"What!?" Evan asked, shocked at the pronouncement. Things were quickly spiraling out of control. "Why do you have to do that?"

"I was going to do it anyways, waiting until we had gotten the bullet out, but since she's in labor we need to perform a C-section."

"Wait, I'm coming too." Evan said, hopping off of the stretcher and putting most of his weight on his good leg even though the aids tried to hold him back again.

"Sorry Major, there's not enough time." Pierce replied, shaking his head.

"No, I want Evan with me." Max whispered as tears filled her eyes. She was scared even more now; scared that Evan wouldn't be there with her.

"I'm sorry Max but there's no time. I want to deliver as fast as I possibly can and then get you patched up right away." Kevin said, feeling very much like the villain at the moment.

As they moved towards the transporter Max stretched her hand towards Evan trying to grasp his as they went past. "Evan!"

Evan reached for Max's hand but came up a few inches short. As she rolled past they still tried to reach for each other until the distance was too much. He watched the doors slide shut and hoped that everything worked out.

--

Evan sighed and shifted around in the uncomfortable chair for the thousandth time, wishing that Kevin would at least send someone out to let him know how things were going. Fortunately it hadn't been too deep of a wound and he hadn't needed to be put under, which he was glad for because he wanted to be awake during all of this. He had been released from the infirmary only when he promised up and down that he'd stay on the crutches.

And as much as he wanted to be pacing back and forth like a normal father might be doing in this case, he feared the wrath of the infirmary staff more.

Evan's eyes glanced at the clock to see that it had been twenty seconds since the last time he had looked. A half-hour had past since the chaos in the Control Tower with things slowly getting back to routine; most everyone who had gotten shot had been patched up and Evan had told Colonel Carter and John what had happened on the planet. Now there was nothing to do except wait.

The door slid open and out came Kevin, blood covering his gloved hands and operating gown. Evan tried to get a glimpse of what was going on but his body was blocking everything. Looking up, he could see that the doctor was smiling.

Stopping in front of Lorne, Pierce said, "Congratulations Major, it's a girl."

Evan broke into a grin at the news; sure he wanted it to be a boy but he was glad just the same. "And Max?" he asked, still smiling.

The smile faltered but didn't disappear entirely, "We're still trying to stop the bleeding but she'll make it."

Lorne's joy was slightly squished at the statement, but took strength from the fact that Kevin was positive that Max would be fine. "Can I see her?" he asked.

Pierce shook his head, "In a little while. I want to make sure that everything's fine first; it was touch and go for a bit."

Evan watched Kevin walked back though the doors leading into the OR and was left pondering what that meant.

Time passed slowly while Evan waited for Pierce to finish with Max. After what seemed like a life time the doors opened once more and this time out came Max with Kevin in tow. Standing, he watched as they pushed her in the direction of the infirmary.

"She'll be fine." Kevin said, following the Major's gaze. "Both of them will be fine."

Evan was relieved and let out a breath, relaxing for the first time since the whole ordeal began.

They were both going to be fine.

Kevin watched the Major's reaction and couldn't help but feel glad for them; the Major and his wife deserved some good in their lives at the moment. They all did right now. "She'll be out for awhile but you can sit with her."

"Really?" Lorne asked, perking up so much at the comment that Kevin couldn't help smiling.

"Yes, but only if you promise to keep your leg elevated."

"Will do." Evan replied, mock saluting Kevin.

--

Max was slightly aware of the pain in her abdomen but hadn't the faintest idea as to what it was. Opening her eyes she squinted against the harsh light until they had adjusted, then opened them fully taking in her surroundings.

Seeing Evan slumped, asleep with a leg propped up, in the chair across from her and taking notice of the machines around her Max quickly figured out that she was in the infirmary.

But why?

The last thing she recalled was standing behind Samantha…

"The baby!" Max gasped, sitting up suddenly and automatically placing a hand on her stomach. Feeling it flat, she started to panic.

Evan was awake in an instant when he heard someone gasp. As he straightened up, he saw that Max was up and had a panicked look on her face. "Everything's ok." He assured her, moving onto the bed.

"But," Max said, still panicking slightly with tears starting to form. "I still had a week left…"

"I know. You were shot, remember?" Evan asked, taking her hands into his and looking her straight in the eyes. When she nodded he continued, "You were already in labor and Kevin didn't want to wait until after he patched you up so he did a C-section." Gently easing her back down onto the bed he reiterated, "Everything's fine."

Max swallowed thickly, "Really?"

"Really." Smiling Lorne remembered how those three weeks ago she said that they were going to have a daughter. "She's fine."

"She?" Max asked, slightly puzzled. Then it dawned on her, "You mean…"

Evan nodded, "Good thing we didn't bet on it or I would've lost big time."

Max felt a smile creep onto her face and was relieved that everything turned out just fine. Even though Evan had made her worry so much when he was missing, that didn't matter now; all that did was that their family was safe and together.

Kevin walked in-between the row of beds, intent on checking on Max, and heard low murmuring. Moving soundlessly past the cloth partition, he saw that she was awake and talking with the Major who was on the edge of the bed. Picking up the chart he asked, "Feeling better?"

Max gave a short laugh and winced as her side twinged, "Slightly. How is she?"

"Right as rain. You know my grandfather was a surgeon in the Korean War and had a friend who had to do this exact same thing once. Both of them pulled through as well with the baby only having a little knick on his heel from the bullet."

"Well, I guess that's what we get for living around military."

"Guess so." Kevin finished writing notes on the clipboard and set it back down. "I'll have Emma bring her over and get you something for the pain if you want."

"Yes for both, please." Max replied. Kevin nodded his head and walked away. As he did, Max looked at Evan and said, "You know, we never picked out a name; girl or otherwise."

"What did you have in mind?" Evan asked, taking Max's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Max shrugged her shoulders, "I dunno, what about Elizabeth?"

"Elizabeth Lorne…" Evan tried the name out. "I like it but won't people think we named her after Doctor Weir?"

"Yeah they would." Max sighed. "How about Jessica?"

Lorne was silent for a few seconds thinking, "Doesn't sound right to me. What about Mary-Ann?"

"Sure it you want 'Gilligan's Island' jokes to follow her all of her life."

"Fine, what about Caitlin?" When Max shook her head he tried again, "Rose?"

"Too 'Doctor Who' and 'Titanic'."

"Margaret?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hate the nicknames."

"Anne?"

"She's not a Little Orphan." They were silent for a few seconds until Evan spoke up, "Jane?"

"Reminds me of 'Firefly'."

"Michaela?"

"Too 'Doctor Quinn'."

"Then I give up." Evan replied, running out of ideas.

"There's no need to get all snarky." Max replied, raising an eyebrow. "What about Rebecca?"

"Too 'Sunnybrook Farm'."

"Ok, what about…" Max paused, wracking her brain for a name. "Miranda?"

Evan was silent, thinking. "Miranda Lorne." He said, trying it out. "I like it."

"Good, 'cause if you had turned that one down then I was going to suggest we go with Elizabeth and just call her Liz."

Seeing motion out of the corner of her eye Max turned to the left and saw Emma walk in holding a tiny bundle. "Here she is." Emma said, gently passing the baby to Max.

Evan was completely floored by how beautiful Miranda looked. Until then he hadn't understood why people took ungodly amounts of baby photos, stuck them in their wallets and then pulled them out every five minutes to show to every person that passed them by, but now he knew.

He moved closer to Max and leaned in, looking at both of his girls and smiled. They were just so damn cute. Gently kissing Max he murmured, "I love you."

Max smiled, "I know." At that moment Miranda opened her eyes and looked up at her parents. "Hey Miranda." Max said softly, pushing back the blanket so she could get a better look. "She has your eyes."

"And your hair." Evan said, gently caressing the top of her head.

"Uh…Evan?" Max asked, noticing for the first time Miranda's hair color.

"Hm?"

"I don't have red hair."

A/N: Cookies to whoever can guess the name of the grandfather and friend. Thanks to those who've reviewed and to those who haven't...I know you're reading it so Review!


	9. We need to talk

"She has red hair." Lydia replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Thanks for stating the obvious Lydia." Max replied, tucking in the blanket that was around the sleeping Miranda. It had been four weeks since her appearance and Max had only been out of the infirmary for five days, after promising that she wouldn't get out of bed for the first three days and take it easy after that.

Not wanting to be cooped up any longer, Max decided that while Lorne was off in one of his meetings she would take advantage of the opportunity that presented itself and get out. After making sure that Miranda was nice and snug in the baby carrier that had just arrived on the Daedalus' last visit Max set out for the cafeteria.

The normal ten minute walk via transporter took much longer because everyone wanted to get a peek at the newest member of the Expedition, granted most who stopped them were female but there had been the occasional male that stopped as well. Once in the cafeteria Max was glad for a place to sit down and set the carrier because she was still tired from the whole ordeal.

Not long after she sat down Crysta had shown up with Alex and Lydia not far behind, and now they were all sitting around catching up.

"So how did Lorne take it?" Crysta asked, taking a sip from her cup of coffee.

"He freaked out. But Pierce calmed him down by saying since we both have red-heads in our families we carry the gene and occasionally even if both the parents aren't red it can still happen."

"Sure…just keep telling daddy that." Alex said, smiling as Miranda yawned in her sleep while Max rolled her eyes.

"Does he know that you're out and about?" Lydia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope." Max replied, shaking her head. "I haven't had to sneak out of somewhere since I was in high school. Besides I've been stuck in there for three months, I was ready to climb the walls."

Crysta glanced at her watch and sighed, "I need to be heading back to the lab, Parrish said he had some new plants for me to look at."

Alex stood at the same time, "McKay might come in soon and I need to put out the lemon Jell-o."

"And then there were two." Lydia said after Alex had disappeared into the kitchen. "Wanna take a walk?"

"Sure, why not? I could use the exercise." Max replied, standing and picking up the carrier. "So," she asked as they stepped out of the cafeteria. "where are we heading?"

"My lab, I need to pick up some notes." Lydia said as they walked down the hallway. "How are you finding motherhood so far?"

"It's…exhausting." Max slowly admitted, while Lydia grinned. "I'm just glad I have a while before going back, I don't think that I could survive all those kids and deal with Miranda at the same time without a two hour-long nap in between at the moment. But the worst part is getting up every two hours, it seems like every time I'm just falling asleep she starts to fuss." Max stifled a yawn and shifted her hold on the carrier, "What I don't get is how Evan can sleep though all of it, once he closes his eyes he's out."

"He's Air Force, Max." Lydia said as they turned a corner and neared her lab. "He can sleep through an air strike, most likely has, so a crying baby isn't even going to make him stir." As they walked through the door Lydia saw that Rodney was at one of the tables typing madly away on his laptop.

Rodney hardly tore his eyes away from the screen as he said, "What is it Winter?"

"It's Campbell, McKay, and _why_ are you in my lab?" Lydia replied while rolling her eyes at Max, who stifled a giggle.

"And who said that it was your lab?"

"Uh…you did. Don't get all worked up, McKay, I'm just here for some notes then I'll be gone." Lydia shot back as she made her way towards one of the side tables where a binder sat.

As she picked up the binder the lights flickered, and Lydia paused looking up at the light wondering if the bulb needed to be changed. They flickered again and she noticed that only the ones over Rodney were turning on and off. Grinning like the Cheshire cat, she put a hand on her bulging stomach and patted it, "That's mommy's little man. Keep it up."

Max watched the lights turn themselves on and off and raised an eyebrow. She guessed that some of the "Sheppard ease" with Ancient technology had been passed down to the next generation.

This should be interesting to watch.

The lights continued to turn on and off rapidly until Rodney looked up in annoyance and shouted, "Stop messing with the lights, Winter!"

"It's _Campbell_ and it's the BABY you idiot!" Lydia snapped.

"Well tell it to stop; I'm getting a headache."

"I can't tell _him_ to stop, even if I could I wouldn't, and if you're getting a headache leave." Lydia retorted, setting down the binder and folding her arms.

Rodney scowled at Lydia for a few seconds and then turned back to his work muttering something that sounded like, 'bane of his existence'.

Lydia was in too good of a mood at the moment so she just smirked again, picked up her binder and walked out of the room while the lights were still flickering.

"Have you and Jay come up with a name yet?" Max asked as they strolled down the hallway.

"Yup. We're gonna name the kid Bruce." Lydia replied, letting out a small laugh.

Max just shook her head, "You just named him that so you could yell 'Bruce Campbell' and not make it seem like you're some kind of stalker."

"...and?"

"…and it shouldn't surprise me since you jumped Jay when you found out that was his last name." Max finished, with a smile.

--

"Did you ever think that we'd be here raising a family?" Lydia asked, as they sat on a bench looking out towards the ocean. After leaving her lab, they'd decided to head over to one of the less used balconies so they could talk and not be disturbed by people wanting to see the baby.

"Never in a million years." Max replied as she held Miranda, hoping that she'd fall asleep soon. "I mean, I'd always wanted kids but I thought that it would be the whole 'white picket fence' deal." She looked at her friend and was silent for several seconds before asking, "What about you?"

"_I_ never thought I'd get married or have kids, then Jay appears and next thing I know Brucie here is on his way." Lydia sighed and the two women fell into a comfortable silence, each with their own thoughts.

"I guess with everything that's happened the last couple of years our priorities have changed." Max said, breaking the silence.

"Guess so." Lydia paused before continuing, "I have no way of transitioning this so I'm gonna come right out and ask; have you and the Major talked about what happens to Miranda if you both…ya know, kick the bucket?"

Max sighed while gently setting Miranda, who had just fallen asleep, back into the carrier. "No…with everything that's been going on there hasn't been time."

"Don't you think you should? 'Cause after what happened, I thought that it would be on the top of your mind."

"Yeah, me too." Max agreed.

--

Max sighed as she ran a towel through her hair and stared at her reflection in the mirror while thinking about the conversation she'd had with Lydia. True, given all the chaos of the last couple of weeks the thought of arranging a guardian for Miranda had gotten pushed to the back of her mind but Lydia was right; again.

They needed to have a talk.

And the fact that Evan was back on the duty roster didn't help any because that meant she needed to bring up the subject sooner rather than later.

But how she'd start the conversation she had no idea. Sighing again, Max figured that starting with 'planning on dying soon?' wouldn't really go over too well. Walking out into the living room she saw Evan on the floor with Miranda, who was on top of a blanket.

"…smile for daddy." Evan was saying, using the high gentle voice that adults used when talking to an infant or toddler while grinning at her. But Miranda just looked up at Evan, yawning instead. He was temporally crestfallen, but the smile was back before Miranda had time to blink. "C'mon, I know you can. Smile for daddy."

Max couldn't help but smile as she watched from her vantage point in the doorway as he tried to make Miranda smile by any means necessary; the use of silly faces included.

But Miranda refused to begrudge him even a tiny flicker, much to his disappointment. Lorne was about ready to give up but decided to give it one more try. He gently tickled her while saying, "Can you give daddy a smile?"

This time he was rewarded with Miranda breaking into a large grin.

"There we go, I knew you could smile."

"It just could be gas, you know." Max said, walking towards them and sitting down next to Evan.

"You have to take the fun out of it, don't you?" Evan asked, pretending to be hurt.

"Just stating the facts, Evan." Max replied, shrugging her shoulders. Just then Miranda started to cry and she inwardly sighed, this was her 'I'm tired' cry. "Looks like it's someone's bedtime." Max said soothingly, getting up and then bending down to gently pick up the baby.

Evan watched Max walk towards the nursery and was slightly surprised how normal it seemed. They were in the middle of the Pegasus Galaxy and here they were acting like a normal family; like the Wraith and Replicators didn't even exist and the IOA breathing down their necks, waiting for them to mess up so there'd be an excuse to end the program, was just paranoia and everything was fine.

Of course Evan knew that it was just wishful thinking that things could be as normal as they were on Earth, but wished for it just the same. Getting up he made his way towards the nursery and stopped in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe and watching as Max rocked their daughter to sleep.

Max heard movement and looked up to see Evan standing in the doorway, their roles now reversed. She smiled silently at him and continued to push the rocker back and forth, trying to ease Miranda's cries. When the rocking alone didn't seem to still the cries Max began to sing softly, reminding Lorne of the old nursery rhymes his mother used to sing to him and his siblings when they were that little.

After awhile Max looked down and saw that Miranda had drifted off to sleep. Getting up she slowly walked over to the crib, gently setting her down. Once her arms were free, Max softly pulled the blanket up and turned on the baby monitor while grabbing the remote. Then smiling at Evan, Max took his hand and led him towards the living room. "We need to talk." She whispered.

Evan nodded, not wanting to disturb Miranda. He sat on the couch and pulled Max onto his lap while asking, "What's on your mind?"

"I should've told you before, but with everything that's happened it got pushed to the back of my mind." Max started, finally knowing how to tell him. "While you were…gone Lydia told me that if anything happened to her and Jason they want us to take care of their kid."

"Really." Evan said, surprised. He would've thought that John would be the child's guardian, since he was the closest thing Jason had to family, but in reality he shouldn't have been so surprised given that Max and Lydia were close friends.

Max nodded her head, "Yeah, of course I told them that we'd be more than willing to do that; they're having the right papers drawn up at the SGC and all we have to do is sign them."

"Ok." Evan turned his head sideways and regarded his wife silently for a few seconds. "Why do I get the feeling that's not all what you want to tell me?"

"Because it's not. When Lydia said that, it got me to thinking and what happened last month put things into a sharper light. We're not invincible, Evan, no matter how much we like to think we are. Especially out here, we have no idea if today is our last." Max paused, eyes brimming at the thought of anything happening to her or Evan.

"Don't talk like that, nothing's going to happen." Evan admonished.

"You don't know that," Max sighed, trying to collect herself. "I guess what I'm trying to say we need to plan ahead; make sure that Miranda's taken care of in-case both of us are killed."

Lorne was silent, he wanted to argue but he knew that it would be pointless because what Max was saying was true. "'K," he said slowly, "who do you have in mind?"

Max shrugged, "That's the thing, I don't know. I would like it to be my mom, Hugh, or Tori, but my mom won't be around longer; she's been going downhill ever since dad died, while Tori said that she doesn't want kids and doesn't plan to get married, and Hugh is busy flying; he's never home for more than a week." Putting her arms around Evan, she leaned into him while continuing, "What about you?"

"We could always ask Kali, Justin, or any one of my siblings; they all have families of their own and while I know that they'd treat 'randa like their own at the same time it wouldn't be the same. I want it to be someone who knows about the Program and knows what she had to deal with." Evan wrapped his arms around Max and hugged her tight. "You're right, we need to plan ahead. Why don't we think about it some and go from there, all right?"

"Ok." Max replied, closing her eyes and feeling like a rather large burden had been lifted from her shoulders (or at least equally distributed).


	10. Normalcy is short lived around here

"You sure, you'll be all right?" Max asked over her shoulder as she dashed into the living room, looking rather harried.

"For the last time, yes." Evan replied following her, with Miranda in his arms. Even though he could hold the three-month old without too much trouble he was still paranoid about dropping her. "I don't have to go off world until noon and Katie said she'd be more than willing to watch 'randa until you get back. It's all covered."

Max paused, one arm in her SGA-issue jacket. "Really?"

"Yes really. Her exact words were 'it'll be good practice'. What that means, I have no idea."

Max smiled, "I think I do." Then she was silent for a few seconds, thinking, and then was back running all over their quarters. "I think I packed everything that Miranda might need." Max stated, putting the bag on the table and picked up papers, stuffing them in her backpack. Pausing, Max sighed and looked at them. "Maybe I should go back tomorrow; Jodie's perfectly capable of handling it for one more day and Miranda felt a bit warm this morning."

Evan saw right though Max's words and knew that she didn't want to leave. "She's fine, you're going, and we'll see you off." He replied, striding across the room and setting Miranda in her carrier. She grinned and giggled, kicking her legs and making it difficult for Evan to strap her in.

Max smiled at the sight of him struggling to get Miranda ready and finished getting ready herself. Picking up a rattle she handed it to the still grinning baby with a smile, "There you go, sweetie." Looking up at Evan she asked, "You ready?"

"Yup. What about you?"

"As I'll ever be." Max sighed, looking around the place one last time making sure that she wasn't forgetting anything. Satisfied that she had everything, Max took the carrier from Evan and said, "Well, I guess we should get going."

"Yes we should." Evan replied as they stepped out into the hallway and holding up the bag, "I'll trade ya."

Max shook her head, "That's ok, I've got it."

"Suit yourself."

The trip to the Jumper Bay was smooth and soon the trio entered the hanger, ready for life to return to its regular routine. As they walked closer towards the Jumper Evan noticed that Airmen were loading what looked like to be crates of soda and something else that he couldn't see into it. "What's all that for?" he asked.

"The soda and candy?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow. Evan nodded and Max realized that she had forgotten to tell him about what she had planned. "Oh, I thought that on my first day back I could show the kids something fun. Science with an entertainment value, you could say."

"Ok," Evan said slowly, nodding his head. "but what does that have to do with soda and candy?"

Max just shrugged while smiling, not saying anything and handing the carrier over to Evan.

He looked at her for a second and then said, "You got that from 'Mythbusters' didn't you?"

She gave Evan a light kiss on the cheek, then leaned down to give one to Miranda. "I'll see you both of you later." She said cheerfully and after giving one more kiss to Evan she walked towards the Jumper, which the Airmen had just finished loading.

Evan watched as the Jumper closed its hatch and then lifted off. Shaking his head, he looked down at Miranda and said, "What are we going to do with her?"

Miranda just smiled and laughed.

Lorne smiled. "My thoughts exactly. Ok," he said, shifting his hold on the carrier. "let's get you over to Katie."

--

After dropping Miranda off at the greenhouse, Evan made his way back to their quarters to shower and get things straightened up before going off world. His gaze sweeping over the living room he wondered how in such a short amount of time their place could be overrun with stuffed animals.

Picking his way over pink fuzzy horses and numerous teddy bears, he managed to make it to the bathroom without falling or tripping over anything.

Lorne had just finished putting on his jumpsuit when he spotted a lone stuffed animal on the dresser. "Uh oh." He muttered to himself as he walked over and picked it up.

Heading towards the door, he opened it and walked down the hallway while hoping that Miranda wasn't in hysterics quite yet. Turning a corner he almost ran into John. "Sorry sir," He apologized, stopping just inches from the Colonel. "didn't see you there."

"That's ok, Major." John replied, wondering why Lorne was in such a hurry. Then he noticed that the Major was carrying something and saw that it was a purple bunny rabbit with a lace collar and floppy ears. From the look of it, the rabbit was well loved. Raising an eyebrow, John said, "I was just on my way to see you."

Evan followed John's gaze down and realized that he was staring at the rabbit. Feeling his cheeks heat up he explained, "It's Miranda's favorite stuffed animal, sir, can't go anywhere without it. I was, uh, just bringing it to her."

"Of course." John said, letting a small smile slip. Clearing his throat he quickly changed topics, "I wanted to let you know that your mission's been changed; you and Stackhouse's team are going to accompany Parrish and some other biologists while they collect samples off-world. You leave in an hour."

"Yes sir." Evan said as he started to walk past John.

"And Major?"

Evan paused, "Sir?"

"No bunnies, please." John replied with a grin.

Evan felt his cheeks heat up even more, but smiled as well, "I'll try my best."

"Good."

He managed to make it to the greenhouse without too much trouble and walked in to find Katie working with Miranda snoozing in her carrier.

Katie looked up to see the Major walk in and smiled, "Worried huh? She's fine and went down just a few minutes ago. I think she found my voice soothing."

"Actually she forgot Mister Muffins."

"Who?"

"Her favorite stuffed animal." He explained, holding up the bunny. "She takes it everywhere."

"Ah," Katie nodded. "I had a nephew who wouldn't leave the house without his bear; Commander Bun-Bun. The poor thing was almost falling apart by the time he out grew it."

As Lorne knelt and set Mister Muffins next to Miranda he heard Katie say, "She has the cutest red hair, I've ever seen."

"Yeah," he replied, slightly tensing. "she does." Ever since Max had pointed that out he had wondered how the hell it could've happened. Sure Kevin had explained it to them, but Lorne couldn't help but feel like that wasn't the truth. And when he wondered if Max was hiding something it made him feel guilty for doubting her; he knew that she had eyes only for him but at the same time that wouldn't make the doubt go away.

"I'm going off world sooner than expected but Max will still pick up Munchkin here when she gets back." Evan said as he stood.

"That's fine."

After a quick check to make sure that Miranda had everything Evan exited the room and hurried to suit up.

--

"This is nice." Laura commented as they walked towards the Gate for their scheduled check-in.

"How so?" Evan asked, wondering how Laura thought standing around while Parrish and his crew did what ever it is they do was nice.

"It's a good change of pace. For once we're not getting shot at and don't have to run for our lives."

Lorne was silent for a few seconds, considering Cadman's statement. "It _is_ nice not having bullets flying over our heads." He admitted.

They reached the Gate and Evan activated the symbols for Atlantis. After pressing the last chevron, he waited for the familiar sound of the Gate activating.

But it didn't happen.

Puzzled, he tried again but got the same result.

Even waiting a few minutes and trying a third time didn't help.

"Ok…that's not good." He muttered under his breath while trying to figure out their next move.

"Problem?"

"You could say that; the Gate won't lock and we don't have anyone from McKay's department here to tell us what's up."

"Should we dial the Alpha Site?"

Evan hesitated, thinking about it. He _could_ have gotten the address wrong, but he knew that he hadn't since they had been on M12-578 for almost half a year and he had dialed in from countless missions since then.

Since he hadn't gotten the address wrong, the only thing he could think of was that there was something wrong with their Gate, the one on Atlantis, or both of the Gates weren't working.

They didn't know that it was just a normal malfunction (come to think of it, nothing was _normal_ about a Gate not working) or something more underhanded at work.

But at the same time it was too early to think of the worst case scenario. It could be that McKay was running a dialogistic of the Gate system and it was taking longer than expected.

"Nah," Evan replied, shaking his head. "it's early and we've got time."

--

Evan walked up to the DHD, as the rest were trailing behind, hoping that the Gate would activate this time. Through out the mission he had returned and tried to dial Atlantis but hadn't been successful. Not wanting to cause a panic he had only told his team and Stackhouse's, letting them know that they might have to take a detour to the Alpha Site.

Lorne mentally crossed his fingers as he punched in the address. The chevrons lit up and he hesitated hitting the final symbol, wondering if he shouldn't just dial the Alpha Site and go from there. But he dismissed the thought as soon as it appeared because he didn't want to give Max any more reason to worry more than she did.

His hand hit the last symbol, then the middle, and the Gate sprung to life. Exhaling a breath he hadn't known he had been holding, Evan sent his IDC code, "Atlantis this is Major Lorne."

"_Good to hear your voice Major._" He heard Carter say.

"Yours as well ma'am. We're coming through now."

"_Shield's lowered._"

As Evan stepped through the Gate he noticed two things; there seemed to be more activity than normal in the Control Tower and everyone kept staring at him.

The latter struck him as more odd than the former because before then he was just "one of the guys", but now…something felt off and Evan couldn't put his finger on it.

--

Evan walked through the door looking forwards to a nice relaxing evening with Max and Miranda but he was greeted with darkness. "_That's odd,_" he thought. "_She got back well before me and should've been here._"

There was no note saying that she was with her friends or took Miranda for a walk or any evidence that she had been in their quarters at all. It was like she never even came back.

He moved a hand to activate his headset, but he was half-way up when he heard, "_Major?_"

"Yeah Katie?"

"_I was wondering when Max'd be by to pick up Miranda._"

"What do you mean? She should've picked her around four."

"_No…Miranda's still here with me. I don't mind watching her longer but next time I'd like a little more advance notice._"

"Sorry 'bout that, I'm on my way to pick her up right now." Evan said, retreating back through the door. After picked up Miranda, who was asleep, he headed towards the Control Tower; there were some un-answered questions that needed to be addressed.

Walking up the steps he by-passed Chuck without even asking if Carter was in her office, given what had just happened he knew that she would be there, and went right up to the door.

Knocking on the doorframe he waited until she acknowledged his presence before entering. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, setting the carrier down.

"I'm sorry?" Sam asked, slightly confused as to what the Major was referring to.

"Why didn't you tell me that Max hadn't returned?"

Sam sighed, knowing that she should've told him at the debriefing. "I didn't because I wanted to make sure that it wasn't just Gate trouble like you and the rest of the teams in the field had. After you left I had them dial the planet one more time, but we just got the same response; it simply wouldn't lock. I don't know what to tell you; it's like they just disappeared."


	11. Parenthood is overrated

Evan didn't know if he should be worried, angry, or a combination of both. His wife was missing and they decided to keep that from him. Settling for simmering rage, he shifted in his seat and asked calmly, "We know why?"

Sam shook her head, "Sorry, but we don't. Teyla gave me a list of their trading partners and other planets that they knew; we can try them, see if they know what happened but it's a long shot."

Numbly nodding his head, Evan knew that there was nothing else he could do at the moment. "Thanks Colonel." He said, standing.

"I'm sorry Major, I should've told you right away." Sam apologized. "But I wanted to be sure."

"Yeah."

"Do you need some time off to figure things out?" she asked, trying to make up for her error. "I can tell Colonel Sheppard to take your team off the roster for a few weeks if you want."

Evan shook his head, "No thanks, I'd rather be out there looking."

"If you're sure…"

"I am." Picking up the carrier Lorne nodded his head and walked out of the office. It had been a long day and all he wanted right now was a hot meal and cold drink.

But it seemed that Miranda had other plans. Squirming in her seat, she managed to dislodge her stuffed animal and it fell to the floor. Stretching her hands, tears started to well in her eyes.

"Whoa, what's wrong Munchkin?" Evan asked when she cried out. Seeing that her bunny was missing he looked behind him and saw the animal on the floor. "Ok…ok, I'll get him." Backtracking he picked the object up and handed it to her.

It was in her grasp for ten seconds when it fell on the floor again. And again Evan paused to pick it up. After repeating the same process about a dozen times, Miranda finally kept it at her side.

By the time they walked (or rather Evan walked, Miranda was in her carrier) through the doors he was starving. Miranda, if her continued screaming was any indication, was also starving.

Now, he faced a dilemma; baby was pissed off and hungry. In order to feed the baby, he needed to find where Max had put everything. But somehow, Evan didn't really think Miranda would accept this as an acceptable delay and wait quietly.

So after some frantic searching, he found the box of food supplies. Thankfully, the bottle warmer came ready to use, and while it warmed up, Lorne tried to tackle the assembly of the bottle itself, because _that_ of all things, had come in pieces.

After several false starts, he managed to get it to look almost right. "Okay," he muttered. "Formula, formula…formula!"

He grabbed it, opened it with a _pop_, and fine, white powder promptly exploded everywhere. Including his jumpsuit and hair. "Great. Just great."

By the time the bottle was ready, Miranda was bright red and seriously pissed. And, as Evan discovered while feeding her, the bottle must have been put together wrong, because it leaked.

Still she eventually stopped crying, which was progress. Right now, he'd take the small victories.

"Okay. Now I get to eat." he muttered to himself, awkwardly trying to hold her (who he was _still _not comfortable holding...especially by himself) while looking for a power bar or something. After rummaging though almost everything Evan hit the jackpot, finding a package of Ramen. Water wasn't a problem; just run the hot tap from the bathroom and let the noodles soak.

For ten minutes, there was peace. There was a quiet baby and after some quick searching, a classical CD playing softly in the background. This was okay. He could do this.

Until Miranda started fussing again.

Eyes narrowed, Lorne held her at eye level. "Okay. I fed you. I'm holding you. I have the music on low. You have Muffins. What's your problem?"

In response, she twisted a little one way, then wriggled another, and then proceeded to let out a huge burp while vomiting all over his jumpsuit.

Not surprisingly, she found this more amusing than he did.

And, of course, that's when the chime rang.

Explaining to Brice exactly why he was covered in formula and spit-up with Miranda starting to cry again was too much trouble. He gave the Lieutenant the information he wanted and he was soon gone leaving Lorne and Miranda by themselves again.

--

Somehow, even the destruction of military issue clothing seemed like less of a tragedy after a quick change and food. In fact, with a piano concerto playing in the background and Miranda changed into one of her outfits all fresh and happy, Evan had started to believe that really, this wasn't so bad. He could manage for an evening or two until Max was found.

Of course, the fact that Miranda had essentially been asleep for most of the day (at least according to Katie) didn't really make bedtime a thing that was going to happen anytime soon. But she was quiet and Lorne had the time to stop freaking out and sort of enjoy her.

After all, her laugh was really cute. When she grabbed at his fingers demandingly, it was sort of endearing. And as he discovered, it wasn't a myth that most of the time babies smelled really good.

He managed to change her diaper without too much trouble (it almost seemed like she was humoring him) and by midnight, she had finally dozed off.

Evan took two seconds to double check and then happily followed her lead.

That is, until he woke up at precisely three a.m. to the now all too familiar sound of shrieking.

--

Samantha liked being the first one up in the morning, there was something almost covert about it, a chance to observe the average state of everything when people knew there was no one breathing down their necks.

This particular morning, however, it was clear before she even stepped into the cafeteria that someone had beaten her.

She just didn't understand how that someone could be a baby with an ear-shattering wail, although she had a strong guess as to why.

Curbing the impulse to cover her ears as she walked through the doors, she wasn't surprised to see Evan slumped in a chair, and a carrier full of crying baby sharing the table top. "Major Lorne," she said loudly enough to be heard over the racket. "why is there a crying baby in the cafeteria?"

He looked up at her wearily. "Well, because she won't _stop_, Colonel. She's been like this since three in the morning. I've tried everything. Twice. I changed her. Fed her. Burped her. Played with her. Sang to her. Walked her. She just…won't stop."

That much was obvious. "She can't be here." Sam pointed out.

Evan, however, seemed too frazzled to be impressed with her 'you messed up again McKay' glare. "Do _you_ know how to make her stop?"

Sam's experience with babies began and ended with her brother's kids, who had just entered middle and high school. "No."

"Well, then I'm waiting here for Katie." At this declaration, Lorne almost collapsed in on himself. "She'll know how to make it stop."

Honestly, Sam had no ready response for that. On the one hand, his desperation was clear. On the other, people were going to start arriving soon and this was hardly conducive to a good working environment.

Luckily, before she had to actually do anything, Sheppard appeared as if from nowhere. "What the hell did you do Major?" With disturbing ease, he scooped Miranda out of her carrier and cradled her in confident arms.

"Nothing, she's just crying." Lorne explained once more.

"Ah." was all John said as he began to pace, Miranda's cries already waning. "They do that sometimes."

--

"Everything ok Major?" Katie asked when Lorne arrived at the greenhouse with a fussy Miranda in tow.

"Yeah…just relishing the joys of parenthood." He deadpanned, wondering if this was like when your brain was fried; hell, Basic was a cakewalk compared to this.

"It can't be that bad can it?" Katie asked, unbuckling the restraints and picking Miranda up. Almost immediately Miranda started to calm down.

"How is it that everyone's better with my kid than I am?" Lorne asked.

"You just need to relax." Katie said, smiling at the settling baby. "What time are you going to pick her up?"

"Is four all right? We're gonna try a few of the villages that Teyla gave us to see if they know anything about the Athosians."

"That's fine, I'll see you then."

--

Evan trudged though the Gate, disheartened but not ready to give up hope. They had gone tried three villages that were trading partners with the Athosians hoping that they knew what had happened, but both were dead ends.

There was nothing more they could do but try the rest of the list that Teyla had given them and hope that it resulted in them being found.

--

He avoided spilling formula everywhere (thank God, as everything still had a layer of white dust from the last time), but he still assembled the bottle wrong.

Because the jumpsuit incident was hard to forget, he burped her immediately and thoroughly.

Then, because he was exhausted and hadn't showered in entirely too long, and the fact that his hair still had baby formula in it making him look older than he actually was, Evan decided to take a cue from the inexcusable chick-flick genre and shower. He just…took Miranda with him. Sure, the water had to be lukewarm and he was paranoid about dropping her, but at the end they were cleaner, happier and smelling _much_ better.

He dressed her in a diaper and a disturbingly cute little T-shirt that read "Made in the USA" and they played. And at some point, he dozed off on the couch; listening to music and a happily snoozing baby on his stomach.

She still woke up at exactly three a.m.

This time, however, he just went through all the usual motions, finally walking her back and forth across the living room until she calmed down.

Yes, it took an hour and a half.

But eventually, it happened.

--

The chime rang and Evan groaned. Who would come by at this god forsaken hour?

Hauling himself out of bed, he quick checked on Miranda and was grateful that the chime hadn't woken her up, he then trudged over to the door and as it slid open Lorne saw that it was Jason. "What can I do for you, Jay?" he asked, stepping aside so the younger man could enter.

"Max borrowed a book from Lydia and she wants it back." Jason said, looking slightly surprised at the Major's appearance; hair mussed and looking like he had been up all night.

"Do you know what it was?"

"Uh…a book on Poe or Keats or someone dead; I forget exactly."

Evan inwardly groaned, he had no idea where Max kept her books to begin with and didn't even know if he could find anything if his life depended on it at the moment. He needed a drink.

"You wanna beer?" he asked, opening the door to the mini-fridge.

Jason raised an eyebrow at the unexpected statement and glanced at his watch, "It's 7 in the morning."

"Scotch then?"

"Things going that well, huh?"

"Oh yeah."


	12. Look at that

The next morning, Evan felt…better. Not great, because he still lacked sleep but less inclined to jump off the top of the main spire anyway. He was even cheery enough to sort of enjoy sneaking the baby into Lydia's lab so that Rodney wouldn't find out.

"Thanks again for doing this, Lydia." Evan said as he settled the car seat on a working table.

"Are you kidding? I'm just relieved to not have to come up with excuses to go down to the greenhouse and visit her." Lydia said smiling. "I bet Katie's jealous that I get her today, though."

"She's still sulking." Evan admitted with a smile. "Okay, there should be plenty of bottles in the bag, if not I think I stuck an extra one in the top drawer of my desk."

Lydia gasped, "In Playboy's honored spot?"

Evan flinched at the question (how she knew he still got them and kept them in his desk he didn't want to know). "Right on top of it, actually." Never mind that the formula would probably leak all over it.

For some reason, this caused her grin to spread, now so wide that it prompted Evan to ask, "What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. Go on and solve the case of the missing mother."

Lorne nodded, glancing at Miranda one last time before heading out. He had completely exited the room when he felt compelled to pop his head back in. "And Lydia?"

"Yeah?"

"No tattoos."

Her face fell rather comically and Evan had to suppress a smile. "But I got cute little temporary ones! Of flowers and butterflies and, okay, a dagger, but-"

"No, tattoos." The Major reiterated before leaving, heading over to the briefing room where he was absolutely going to be late.

Sure enough, when he arrived, everyone was already gathering their stuff ready to head out.

"Major," John said by way of greeting. "everything taken care of? McKay stayed late last night and turned up a possible lead as to where the Athosians might be. We're heading off-world right away to check it out."

"Yes sir, she's with Doctor Campbell."

From across the room where Stackhouse was gathering his things, there emerged a puzzled noise. "I thought you had been depending on Brown to relish the wonderful joys of baby-sitting."

"I was. But then I started worrying, y'know, because Miranda's just a baby and I'm not sure that spending all that time with...well, people talking to plants can't really be good for her psyche long term. Plus, she was starting to smell like the plant food they use over there."

As they walked down the stairs, Stackhouse frowned. "Okay...but how is spending large amounts of time with Lydia going to be any better for her psyche?"

"Oh, it's not – I've accepted that _that's _a lost cause. But at least this way, she retains that new baby smell."

John, who seemed to be trying very hard not to laugh, focused on the activating Gate. "Your daughter is not a car, Major."

--

He got the bottle (assembled correctly this time) in the warmer quickly enough that he had time to sweep up the mess from a week ago.

He remembered to burp her.

After a quick bite to eat for himself, they played with a new toy he had gotten a while back– a tiny little keyboard that lit up. The sound of it was annoying and tinny, but Miranda made that happy baby squeal when she hit a button.

The classical music stayed off.

She went down a little before 11, having been awake most of the day.

At 2:52, Evan's eyes shot open with his legs swinging out of bed before he had devoted much thought to it. With bare feet and bleary eyes he padded towards the kitchenette, fishing out a bottle from the rack and mixing the formula without too much trouble. He popped the whole thing into the bottle warmer on low, then mechanically walked towards the nursery, scooping up Miranda just as her face was beginning to scrunch up in that position that meant screaming was certain to follow.

The comforting noises he made were almost mechanical as he cradled the sleepy infant, quickly and efficiently changing her diaper and carrying her down the hallway before she could think to complain.

The bottle was ready by the time they got to it and with ease, Lorne managed to juggle both her and the bottle long enough to throw a rag over his shoulder and get settled onto the couch.

He fed her.

He burped her.

And yet somehow, it wasn't until he lowered her from his shoulder and caught her sleepy blue eyes that the events of the last few hours began to sink in.

"Huh." he said thoughtfully, the realization just hitting him. "Look at what we did."

But Miranda had already drifted off and Evan, who was now wide awake, stayed on the sofa watching her sleep.

--

Six months later…

"Hey it's Major Dad." Crysta said, smiling as Evan neared her and Alex with Miranda in his arms.

"Funny. You should take that on the road." He replied with a smile, sitting down. "So what are you hens cackling about?"

"Excuse me?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow. "What did you call us?"

"You heard me." Evan replied, wrestling with Miranda as she leaned towards Crysta hands outstretched. "You don't want to sit still do you?"

"It's ok," Crysta said, taking Miranda who laughed happily. "I haven't gotten to hold her in a while."

"Did you hear about Teyla?" Alex asked.

"No what about her?" Evan asked, raising an eyebrow. Ever since Davos and Linara had appeared there had been talk about the Athosians. While Lorne didn't know exactly what he had told Teyla all he knew was that they were alive, which gave him hope.

And he could take all the hope he could get at the moment. They had gone through the entire list of villages and traders that knew the Athosians but nothing had turned up.

"Well-" Alex started to say but was cut off by the sound of the Gate activating.

Evan's headset clicked and he heard, "_Major please report to the Gate room._"

"I'm on my way." He said standing. "Do you mind watching Munchkin here?"

"Sure."

"Thanks. I shouldn't be long."

--

Evan walked up the steps towards the Control Panel where Sam and John were standing talking quietly. "Sir, ma'am." He said in way of greeting.

"Major," Sam asked, turning to face him. "do you remember who you sent with your wife to the Athosian village?"

"Yes ma'am, I do." He replied, wondering what was up. "Sergeant Merriden. Why?"

Sam shared a look with John asking a silent question. John nodded and she said, "We just received his IDC."


	13. Patience is a virtue

His heart pounding Evan asked, "Have they made radio contact yet?"

"No." John said while shaking his head.

Before Evan could respond the sound of radio static filled their earpieces and the three officers heard; "_Atlantis? This is Sergeant Merriden. Do you read?_"

"We read you Sergeant." Carter replied while glancing at Lorne, asking silently if it was really him. Evan nodded, confirming that it was the Sergeant. "What happened?" Sam asked.

"_Long story ma'am. Permission to come through?_"

"Are the Athosians with you?"

"_Yes ma'am._"

Evan wanted to lower the shield right then and there, because if the Athosians were with him then Max surely would be as well. But he knew that until they saw Halling and the others then they needed to take everything with a grain of salt.

But that didn't keep him from feeling like this nightmare was ending.

"-we'll come to you." Lorne heard Sam say, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"_Yes ma'am._"

As the Gate shut down Sam asked John, "How soon can you get your team together?"

"We'll be ready in ten minutes."

"Good."

John nodded and moved down the steps while calling Ronon, McKay, and Teyla. Evan stared at the inactive Gate and then bounded down the steps after Sheppard.

"Sir," he called out, slightly jogging to catch up.

John paused when Evan called out to him and turned around asking, "Yes Major?"

"Permission to come with you to check out the Athosians."

John looked at his second in command, knowing the reason behind the request. And as much as he wanted to let him come, there were other things that needed to be taken care of. If Merriden really was there, as were the Athosians, John had a feeling that they would need a place to stay before relocating again.

"Sorry Major, but I need you to stay here and help set up rooms for the Athosians and coordinate with Keller for check-ups."

Evan felt a stab of disappointment but understood John's reasoning; if this all turned out the way he hoped then Atlantis would be getting quite a number of new residents soon. "Yes sir." Evan replied with a curt nod. "I'll get right on it."

"Major." John said, stopping Lorne as he was walking away.

"Sir?"

"She'll be with them."

Evan looked at John and nodded, "Yes sir."

--

Bouncing on the heels of his feet, Evan wished that they'd hurry up and come through all ready. It had been an hour since Merriden had contacted them and John went through to make sure everything was all right. Now the Gate was active again and he hoped that they'd start coming through soon.

As if they had been reading his thoughts John, Rodney, and Ronan appeared. Then the Athosians started coming through; a few at a time first and then more steadily. Evan saw Halling, Jinto, and a number of others that he knew from when they were on the mainland; they all looked different to him, like they had changed overnight. What he couldn't get past was the weariness that they all seemed to have; what ever happened to them must have taken a toll on them to constantly look like that. Also they had little, like most of their possessions had just disappeared and what they carried were either in bundles or strapped to their back in rucksacks.

While he was glad to see them, Lorne really wanted to see Max, but as he scanned the sea of faces he couldn't spot hers. He tried to look for an Atlantis uniform but the only one he saw was Merriden's.

Brice then came up and he had to spend a few moments sorting out an issue as to where exactly the Athosians were going to stay and Lorne finished just in time to see the rest of the Athosians step through the Gate. Furrowing his eyebrows, Evan watched as they were taken to the infirmary to get checked out wondering what had happened to Max.

Moving down the stairs he called out, "Sergeant!"

Merriden paused and turned towards Lorne, "Sir?"

"Where's Max?"

"Sir?"

"Why didn't she come through?"

Merriden looked at Lorne as though he'd just sprouted an extra head. "What do you mean, sir?"

"I thought that you told Colonel Sheppard that she was with them, but I didn't see her come though."

"She was with the children last time I saw her, sir. I'm sorry but I was more focused on talking to Colonel Sheppard."

Evan nodded as the Sergeant walked away. He had no idea what happened during the months they were missing, but he knew that she must have clung to some shred of hope that they'd come back, he knew that's what he had done. That and having Miranda kept him from sliding into a funk.

He spent the debriefing wondering how different she was going to be after all this, if they could make up for lost time, and if their relationship was going to change. This had made him realize what she must have gone through when he had been captured by the Genii; the shoe was on the other foot so to speak.

That had been a turning point in their relationship, until then things had been casual but Max had wanted more while he hadn't been ready to commit. They ended up getting into a huge fight before he left and then he had been captured by Kolya. He had missed her, but at least he had known that she was alive and not dead like she had been told.

After he had gotten back the first thing he had done was go see her. They talked well into the night until Lorne finally admitted that he didn't want to see anyone else.

Things progressed at a normal pace until the Ancients returned and they were being sent home. Max's contract was paid out when the Athosians left Atlantis for the second time and she needed to look for other work. Lorne had been thinking about proposing but was hesitant, the last time he had his fiancé had cheated on him.

He didn't want to make the same mistake twice.

After arriving back she got offered a job on the East Coast while he was staying with the SGC. It was only when she said yes to the offer did Lorne realize that he didn't want her to leave. So he did the only thing that he could think of at the time; he asked her to marry him.

The sound of chairs being pushed back brought him to the present and Lorne saw that the debriefing had ended. Standing up as well, he forced himself to walk slowly down the steps instead of imitating Road Runner and speeding towards the infirmary to see if she was there.

Only after picking Miranda up did he dare start towards the infirmary, wondering if they'd finally be a family again. Walking through the sliding door he was saw Keller walk past. "Hey doc," he called out. "you see Max yet?"

Keller paused and looked at the Major. "You just missed her."

Evan was disappointed but was releaved to know that at least she had come through the Gate. "You know where she went?"

"She was with a bunch of the children so my guess is with them."

Evan smiled, "Thanks doc."

"No problem."

As he walked out, Lorne wondered if he should head over to where the Athosians were being housed for the time being or just let her come to them. As he entered the transporter he glanced over at Miranda and saw that she was asleep; her head against his shoulders and a thumb stuck in her mouth.

Softly smiling, he hit the area where their quarters were and made his way towards their place. Once inside, he headed towards the nursery and set Miranda down making sure that she had everything.

Tiptoeing out he looked around the place and sighed. While things were moderately picked up it still looked like a thunderstorm had passed through with toys, clothes, and other things everywhere shoved to the side or in haphazard piles.

"_Ok, so I have the parenting thing down but I still needed to work on my house cleaning skills._" Lorne thought to himself as he began to straighten up.

He was halfway done when the chime sounded. With a stuffed animal still in his hand Evan walked to the door wondering who it was; most were still helping with getting the Athosians settled in while everyone else was either working or winding down for the evening.

"Hi."

Lorne blinked and did a double-take. "Max."


	14. At Last

Evan was wondering if this was a dream or he was hallucinating but a covert pinch told him that he was wide awake.

He looked at her with a mixture of surprise and amazement. Max had changed, but if it was in a good or bad way he didn't know.

Her hair was cut; six months ago it had been past her shoulders, now it was ear length and a darker brown and she looked thinner while her eyes had lost the spark they once held.

It was like looking at a complete stranger but at the same time he knew who the person in front of him was.

"Max." he ventured quietly.

"Evan." she responded, again, faintly – before bursting into tears.

In a flash Evan was there, wrapping his arms around her and smoothing down her hair. "Hey, shhhh. It's okay…shhh…."

Max hugged Evan tighter and tried to speak, but couldn't because of the tears. She had never thought that she'd see him again. When they finally came through the Gate Max had spotted him right away but he been distracted and she had her hands full making sure that the children didn't get left behind. They had been taken to the infirmary right away and after everyone was cleared they started to get settled.

It was hard to leave the people she had been living with for half a year and she found herself not wanting to but the need to see her family again was stronger and soon she was walking down strangely familiar hallways towards his-_their_ quarters.

When he opened the door Max saw his surprise and then stare at her as he took in all the changes that she had made over the months. Then he said her name and she just broke down; all the worry and longing that she had bottled up finally rising to the surface.

Finally the tears subsided and they released their grip on each other. "I missed you." He whispered, wiping a tear away with his thumb.

Max nodded her head and embraced him again. She wasn't sure how long they stood like that, but eventually they let go of each other. "Where's Miranda?"

"Asleep." Lorne replied, taking her hand and leading her towards the nursery. Entering the darkened room, he saw that she was still asleep.

Max let go of Evan's hand and walked up towards the crib. Silently she placed her hands on the railing and looked down. She heard Evan come up behind her softly and wrap his arms around her waist, gently pulling her towards his body.

Max put her hands on his, but her eyes stayed on the sleeping Miranda; when she had left Miranda had been three months old and now she was nine months. Time had passed quickly and she found herself wondering what else she had missed out on. Blinking back fresh tears, she broke from Evan's hold and walked out of the room.

Evan cast a quick glance at Miranda to make sure everything was fine and then followed Max. He found her in their room, gazing at the pile of letters that had been stacking up since she had disappeared.

"They're mostly from your family. I still kept in contact with them, but I didn't tell them you were missing just that you were busy with school and 'randa so there wasn't a whole lot of time to write." He offered up as an explanation. Max nodded and they fell into an awkward silence. "You cut your hair." Evan said, trying to fill in the deafening silence.

"Hm?" Max's hand traveled up to her short tresses and she touched them gently. "Oh yeah…it seemed practical at the time and it was getting to be a bother to care for anyways."

"No, no, I like it." Evan rushed to assure her. "It's different."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Max opened her mouth to reply but a cry came from the nursery and they both moved towards the door. "Wait here." Evan said, gently pulling back Max. "I'll get her."

"…ok." Max said, stopping and watching as Evan exited the room.

He was back in a few seconds with a still-sleepy Miranda in his arms. "Look who's up." Evan said, turning so that Miranda was looking at Max.

"Hey there." Max said, reaching for her.

Miranda shied away from Max and clung to Evan, burying her head into his neck.

They both froze at the action and Evan looked at Max. She swallowed thickly and started at Miranda, she stretched a hand towards the toddler but hesitated. Drawing back, Max took a deep breath and plastered on a smile, "Well, that's expected; after all I was gone for six months."

"You ok?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" The smile faltered slightly but didn't disappear. "I just remembered I need to talk to Colonel Carter about something."

"O-ok." Evan replied, an eyebrow rising. He wasn't so sure of the validity of that statement but didn't want to push; things were shaky enough at the moment.

"It won't take long, I promise." Max flashed Evan a half-smile and then retreated out into the hallway.

Lorne watched her go and sighed. He knew it was going to be hard after all of this, but he didn't know how hard until just now.

Shifting Miranda to his hip he said, "How about we clean up this place for Mommy?"

--

The place was cleaned up, dinner had been cooked, Miranda had been fed and was asleep but Max hadn't returned.

Sighing Evan flopped down on the couch at a loss what to do. He knew that Max needed time to deal with everything, and he didn't want to push, but he wanted to have her back.

The door slid open and he looked up, seeing that it was Max. "Hey."

"Sorry, it took longer than I thought." Max said, awkwardly stopping in the middle of the room. She wanted to tell Evan what she had told Colonel Carter but wasn't sure how to go about it.

"That's ok," Evan replied, shifting so that there was room for Max to sit next to him. "it's been a long day."

"Yeah…it has." Max replied, moving towards the couch. Curling up next to him she wrapped her arms around his chest and leaned against him, closing her eyes while softly smiling.

Lorne wrapped his arms around Max and they sat together in silence, just enjoying each others presence. "What did you talk to Carter about?" he asked, breaking the silence.

Max opened her eyes and looked at him, sitting up as she did. She figured that he'd want to know eventually and knew that by tomorrow everyone else would know. "Well," she started slowly, biting her lip. "a lot of the Athosian's didn't-" Max cut off as her voice hitched the memories still too painful to talk about.

Evan was silent, knowing that he could push but it would be better if he just left it.

Max blinked back the tears and cleared her throat. "didn't make it. There are a lot of kids who are orphaned. I tried to find homes for all of them but…there wasn't room or enough supplies. I did my best but-" She dissolved into tears, the pain still raw in her mind.

Evan pulled Max close to him and let her cry. He felt helpless; normally he knew what to do if they were being attacked or out in the field but when dealing with something like this he was at a loss.

After a few minutes the sobs finally faded and Max continued, "The ones that were left came back with us and now…I asked Sam if we could keep them."

"Keep them?" Evan asked, wondering what they meant.

"Keep them." Max echoed. "As in adopt. I know that some here adore the kids and want to help in any way they can. It's the least we can do."

Evan was silent, processing what he had just been told. It seemed like she was trying to tell him something without actually coming right out and saying it. "And…"

"…and I was thinking we could take in two; Devon and Anglia."

Lorne couldn't help but smile; he wasn't surprised at the request. "How old are they?"

"They're both nine, their parents-" Max swallowed. "it doesn't matter, but they're brother and sister. They've been through so much, we all have, that I don't want to see them split up."

"You're going to be busy enough with Miranda and settling back in here, why add two more kids into the equation?"

"Because I promised them I'd find someone to take care of them and I want that to be us, Evan. It was hard for them, for all of us, and they finally feel safe. I want them to be happy."

He was silent for a few minutes, thinking it over. "Well," Lorne said sighing. "I guess we'd better find a bigger place."


	15. Nightmare

A/N: **Spoliers for the s4 episode 'Doppleganger'!** (The last fourth is spolier-free)

You have been warned so no flames to that effect. Review!

--

Evan stormed through the hallways, intent on finding out where Max was. She hadn't been in the Athosian section of Atlantis or with any of her friends.

That only left their quarters.

He was determined to get to the bottom of this once and for all. No more lies, excuses, or secret meetings; Lorne was going to confront them both.

Walking through the door he found Max on the floor with Miranda, who was playing with Anglia. "Where is he?" Evan demanded.

Max looked up at Evan, her eyebrows wrinkling in confusion. "Who?"

"Colonel Sheppard. I know he was here."

"What are you talking about? He hasn't been here since we moved in."

"I know what you've been up too." Evan said, growing angrier the more she denied it.

Max slowly stood while saying, "Anglia why don't you take Miranda to your room and you two can play there. Dad and I need to talk."

"'K." Anglia replied, standing and then hefting the toddler into her arms. Miranda laughed and grabbed hold of the older girl's hair. "Ow, 'randa that hurts." Anglia said as she walked away.

Max waited until both of them were well out of ear shot before saying, "What's going on Evan?"

"Don't lie to me, Max. What do you think I am stupid? You didn't think that I'd find out sooner or later?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Max said, staring to become more than a little worried. Backing away slightly from him she asked, "Are you feeling ok?"

"I'm fine. What happened? I thought we were happy."

"We are. What does John have to do with this?"

"So it's John now?" Evan asked, advancing towards Max. "What happened to 'Colonel Sheppard'?"

"He told me to call him that." Max replied, backing up even more. But Evan kept moving towards her until she was against the wall and he was a few inches away from her. Putting his hands against the wall, he made sure that she couldn't escape. "Evan," she said, her heart pounding. "you're scaring me."

"Good." He hissed. "Now tell me where he is."

"I-I-I don't know." Max stammered. "Please tell me what's going on."

"Oh you know. You think that I wouldn't find out that you'd been cheating on me? Really Max, how dumb do you think I am?"

"What? That's insane. I'd never cheat on you."

"Then explain Miranda's red hair."

"Pierce said-"

"I _know_ what Pierce said." Evan interrupted, glaring. "But c'mon, do you expect me to believe that?" He leaned in close and whispered, "I know the truth, and deep down so do you." Grinning wickedly at her he pulled out his sidearm saying, "When I find him, I'll make him wish that he had never laid eyes on you." He then walked out into the hallway, heading towards the Control Tower.

Max watched him leave and after the door slid shut she sank to the floor shaking. Something wasn't right, it hadn't been for awhile, but what the cause was she didn't know.

But she could warn John.

--

Evan walked into the Control Tower and strode towards the stairs. He was half way when he heard, "Major!"

Stopping and turning around he saw that it was John. Scowling, he pulled out his nine millimeter and pointed it towards his commanding officer.

Sam walked out of her office when she heard John shout and was just in time to see Lorne point his gun at him. "Major what are you doing?" Sam called out, wondering what was going on.

Lorne glanced behind him to see that everyone had stopped what they were doing and looking at both him and John. "This doesn't concern you ma'am." While pulling back the hammer he continued, "This is between the Colonel and myself."

"Major, explain yourself." John replied in an even tone.

"You couldn't stand the fact that I was happy with someone and you weren't, could you?" Evan asked, ignoring John's request. "How'd you do it? How _did_ you seduce my wife?"

"What are you talking about Major? I haven't seduced anyone. Especially Max. I'm happy for you guys; you know that."

Lorne let out a snort, "You couldn't stand the fact that I had finally found someone and you couldn't even get Teyla to go on a date with you."

John felt himself bristle at the comment and took a deep breath, trying to keep his in anger in check. "Major, I'll give you one last chance to explain yourself."

"I know about you and Max, I saw you two kissing on the balcony."

"I've been in my office all day Major." John said, taking a few steps towards Lorne.

"Stop! Come any closer and I'll shoot."

"Then go ahead!" John yelled, spreading his arms out to make himself a bigger target. "You hate me that much? Then just pull the damn trigger!"

Lorne's finger twitched but he didn't pull it.

"What are you waiting for Major? I said pull it!"

Again Lorne hesitated, but didn't act. There was something in the back of his brain that was telling him that this wasn't real, it was just a dream; a nightmare.

But he was awake.

John saw Lorne hesitate and moved. He ran forwards and tackled the Major to the ground, knocking the gun out of his hands and sending it skittering across the floor. Two Marines came over and Sheppard got up, hauling Lorne upright as well. "Take him to the brig." He said, pushing the Major towards the two men.

--

Lorne paused out side of the door to their quarters, wondering if he should go in or not. Thankfully he wasn't getting a court marshal, after he had threatened Sheppard similar incidents had popped up all over the city. Eventually they realized that it had all started after John had come back from the planet with the crystalline entities. It had made everyone realize their worst nightmares and they had been so real that everyone had trouble telling dream from reality.

Lorne felt horrible, he had done something he was going to regret for a long time; breaking Max's trust and almost killed John because of his insecurity and doubt.

The door slid open and he looked up to see Max, with Anglia and Devon at her side, looking right at him. "Hey." He said softly.

"Hey yourself." Max replied, avoiding his gaze. It had all been explained to her but she knew that Evan wouldn't have done that unless he had been that sure of it. That's what had scared her the most; that he thought she had cheated on him with a friend. "I see that they let you go."

"Yeah…since it wasn't entirely my fault they're not going to press charges, but a repremand'll have to go on my record."

"I see."

They stood in an uncomfortable silence until Lorne spoke up. "Where's 'randa?"

"Napping. I was going to take Anglia and Devon to see Bruce and Lydia. You can come with if you want." Max added hastily, not wanting him to start doubting her for real.

"That's ok, I want to relax for awhile." Evan said, knowing that if they were going to get back on track then he had to trust her.

"If you're sure…"

"I am, I'll see you later and we can talk then ok?"

Max gave him a half-smile and leaned in to give him a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Ok."

--

After everyone had been put to sleep for the night Evan joined Max on the balcony. "I'm sorry." Evan said before Max could speak. He waited for Max to forgive him but it was silent for a few minutes. "…isn't this the part where you're supposed to forgive me?"

"I don't know if I can." Max replied honestly.

"Why?"

Max turned to face Evan, "Because you thought that I cheated on you. When would I have the time? I was busy with the school and later on, Miranda. How could you think something like that?"

Lorne mumbled a response, knowing that the reason was a silly one.

"What did you say?"

"Red hair." Lorne repeated. "Because Miranda has red hair."

"_That's_ the reason?! Because she's not brunette?" Max took a deep breath and continued making sure to keep her voice lowered. "Would you have thought the same thing is she had been blonde?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Evan let out an agitated sigh. "Come on Max, I know what Pierce told us is true but can you blame me for wondering?"

"Cheating's a two way street, Evan." Max retorted. "But _I've_ never wondered if you've slept with Cadman or anyone else."

Lorne felt like he was just digging himself deeper and deeper. "I said I was sorry, what more do you want me to do?"

"I want you to trust me-"

"I do." Lorne broke in, interrupting Max.

"No you don't. If you did then you wouldn't have pointed a gun at Colonel Sheppard." Max said.

Finished speaking, she went back inside while Lorne stayed outside for a while longer thinking.

Only when it got to dark to see anything properly did he go back inside. Glancing at the couch he saw that a pillow and blankets had appeared. Sighing, he picked up a sheet and started to spread it across the couch.

"Did you and mom have a fight?"

Evan looked up to see Devon and Anglia standing by the door, both were dressed in their pjs and looked not the least bit sleepy. "Aren't you two supposed to be asleep?" he asked.

"Couldn't."

Evan wondered if they had woken them up fighting. Sighing, he sat down on the couch and patted the space on either side of him. They climbed up and he wrapped an arm around them both, pulling them towards him. "You know how your real mom and dad used to get mad at each other sometimes and fight?" he asked. They nodded and Lorne continued, "Well, that's what mom and I are doing right now. We just need some time to cool off and think things through."

"Really?" Devon asked, gazing up at Evan. "You not goin' anywhere?"

"Not for the time being." Evan reassured his adopted son, smiling. "Now I think that it's time you two get to bed."

"Do we have to?" Anglia asked while stifling a large yawn.

"Yes, otherwise I won't take you to the mainland tomorrow." Lorne stated as they both grinned at the mention of the promised trip.

After settling them back into their beds, Evan saw that the light in their bedroom was still on and while he paused at the door, he didn't go in; like he had told Devon and Anglia they just needed some time to cool off.


	16. Trust Me

"Explain to me why you're coming with us?" Evan asked as they walked towards the Control Room.

"Well since I have a history degree and we actually found a place with a recorded past Carter wanted me to see if there were any similarities between theirs and ours." Max replied, playing with the strap to her pack. She hadn't gone off-world since coming back and was anxious to go.

"Ok I get that, but couldn't they just lend us their books and you look at them here?"

"Would you let strangers take your only means of history?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow. For being a smart guy he could be really dumb sometimes.

"No," Evan admitted sheepishly. "but still..."

"What you don't trust me?" Max snapped.

Evan bit back a reply and just steered Max into the nearest doorway and fortunately the lab was empty.

"Hey what gives?" Max asked, wondering what prompted the sudden detour.

"Listen, when go through the Gate I'm in charge." Evan said, slipping into 'commanding officer mode'. "I say 'duck' you hit the ground. I say 'run' you drop your pack, head towards the Gate, and don't look back. No questions."

"Chill, I've gone off world before. I can handle myself." Max said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes and walked towards the door.

"That still doesn't mean that something won't happen." Evan replied, following her. As they entered the hallway he continued, "We've only known them for a short time. Anything can happen."

"If you've forgotten I spent six months living out there, I know what can happen." Max stated, keeping her voice low so others wouldn't overhear her.

"I haven't forgotten, Max. I just want you to be safe." Evan commented softly.

Max stopped and looked Evan in the eyes, "Then trust me."

--

"How can you find some dusty old books thrilling?" Brice wondered out loud while Max was picking books off of a shelf.

"Because it's a cultures entire history; how they lived, what they did to survive, important people that shaped the way they live now." Max replied, trailing her fingers lightly over the dusty tomes. "Don't you ever wonder what it might have been like if the South won the Civil War? Hitler succeeded with the Holocaust and the Blitz; conquering Europe? The Untied States preventing the attack on Pearl Harbor? Caesar, Lincoln, and Kennedy not being assassinated? Napolean winning the Battle of Waterloo?"

"No ma'am. I barely got through high school as it was." Brice replied.

Max laughed lightly and as she gently pulled out a book said, "Well, here's something for you to think about; if any of those things had happened we'd be living in a very different world. Maybe you and I wouldn't be having this conversation."

She paused, feeling that something was off. "You feel that?" It felt like the ground was vibrating rapidly.

Brice nodded feeling it as well. He gazed at Max and said, "Earthquake."

"Earthquake? It's doesn't feel like one."

"Not yet, these are just tremors." Brice stated, striding to the window and looking out. "Grew up in San Francisco so I know what one feels like."

Clicking his radio as he strode away from the window Brice said, "Major we need to leave. Now."

"_What's going on Lieutenant?_"

"You feel the vibration under your feet?"

"_Yes._"

"Tremors sir." Brice replied motioning for Max to hurry up repacking her bag.

"_Earthquake?_"

"Not yet. I'm no Seismologist but it feels like it'll hit soon."

"_How long?_"

"Don't know for sure."

There was a pause and then they heard, "_We're gonna stay and help evacuate the village._"

"Yes sir."

Brice and Max exited the house and started to help spread the word to the villagers that they needed to pack only what they absolutely needed and to head for solid ground.

An hour later they had gotten almost everyone out and Max had been pulled away to help transport the archives. She had just loaded a crate onto a wagon when the ground started to tremble violently.

Evan was helping the leaders' plan where they should set up camp when they all felt the trembles and pieces of ceiling started to crumble. "We need to leave now." He said, as the others started towards the door. Outside people were still trying to get avoid falling debris while staying upright and continuing to evacuate.

Evan spotted Max still loading up a wagon and tried to get her attention. "Max!" he yelled over the noise of debris falling and buildings tumbling. But she couldn't hear him over all the noise.

Tripping over a crack he almost fell, but regained his balance in time. Stumbling towards her, he knew that they needed to get somewhere safe. He was so focused on her that he didn't see the fissure open up until it was too late.

Max heard a loud cracking sound and looked down to see a large fissure heading towards her. Yelling in surprise she looked around for a way of escape but couldn't fine one. The ground beneath her began to crumble and she hit the ground and winced at the pain shooting through her body.

But the pain was quickly pushed aside as she tried to grab anything to stop her decent, but was again unlucky and scrabbling, she grabbed at the sections of street trying to get a handhold as she slid closer towards the opening. Nails tearing, she managed to grab a section and held on trying not to let her grip slip.

The shaking stopped as soon as it had started and people began to emerge from their hiding spots.

"Max!" Evan yelled, his loud voice sounding odd in the stillness that followed the earthquake. They needed to start sifting through the collapsed buildings, looking for survivors while being wary of aftershocks. But right now he was more concerned with getting her out of harms way. He was at one end of the street and she was all the way on the other side; it wasn't all that far but with debris and rubble blocking his way it seemed farther.

"Evan!" Max shouted, not daring to move incase it caused her to shift and loosen her grip.

"Hang on I'm coming."

Despite the danger she was in Max managed to smile, "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere!"

Carefully picking his way over he was almost towards her when an aftershock hit. The ground shook underneath them with the area beneath Max, already weakened from the quake, started to crack. It caved and Max fell into the fissure with a scream, "Evan!"

"MAX!" Evan leapt towards her; hand outstretched hoping to get a hold of her. But he was too far and he watched her fall. With his heart feeling like it was going to pound its way out of his chest he scrambled the last few feet towards where she had been.

Getting down to the ground he carefully inched his way to the edge and, with a deep breath, leaned over to see how deep it was and if he could get Max's body. Looking down, he sighed with relief.

She was alive.

Max fell down and instinctively reached out for something to grab onto. By some quirk of fate, or just plain luck, there was a tree root sticking out and she was able to grab onto that. Wincing as skin was torn off; she grabbed onto the root with both hands and held on for dear life. Then Evan's head appeared and she sighed. "A little help here?" she asked.

Evan felt a smirk on his lips as he stretched his hand down. "Grab onto my hand." He said, trying to reach hers.

"I can't." Max said, knowing that if she let go then she'd fall. Her arms were already getting tired and she didn't know how much longer she'd be able to hold on.

"Yes you can, Max. Just grab my hand."

"I can't." Max looked up at Evan, tears prickling her vision. "Evan…tell Miranda-"

"Don't finish that sentence." Evan intrrupted Max. He knew what she was doing; she was saying goodbye. But he wasn't going to let her die. "Just grab my hand."

Max took a deep breath before letting go with her left hand and reaching towards Evan's. She stretched it as far as she could but came up short.

Another aftershock rumbled through and Max felt her grip start to slip. Yelping she moved her hand back to the root and tried not to let it slip anymore.

"Max."

"What?"

Evan locked eyes with her, "Trust me."

Max hesitated, looking at Evan. She then stretched her hand again but still came up short.

"I know you can do it."

She continued to reach as did he until their finger tips brushed against each other. "Just a bit further." Evan muttered to himself.

Max tried to lift herself up with one last burst of strength and managed to grasp his hand.

Evan grunted from the added strain when Max was finally able to grab onto him and moved his other hand so that Max could grab it as well. When both of their hands were clasped together he strained to pull her up. Grunting, he slowly pulled her up while she used her feet to push herself up when she was able to.

After what seemed to be an eternity Max neared the edge and wiggled her way up. With one last push on the edge she awkwardly landed on Evan. When he let out a surprised grunt, she rolled to the side and started laughing.

Evan wasn't against having Max land on top of him, but was startled when it happened. "What's so funny?" he panted, feeling drained and knowing that his body was going to hurt like hell the next day.

"Everything." Max replied in-between laughs. They lay there, staring at the sky, each with their own thoughts. Max turned herself around so that her head was by Evan's and turned to look at him. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

"For what?"

"For being mad at you."

Evan took her hand and brought it to his lips, lightly kissing it. "I should be the one to be sorry. I know that you haven't been unfaithful and shouldn't have doubted you. Forgive me?"

Max smiled and kissed him, "Of course."

"Good. I love you."

"I love you as well."


	17. Is it worth it?

A/N: **Spoilers for s4 episodes 'Tabula Rasa' and 'The Kindred pts. 1&2'**

Again you have been warned so no griping from the peanut gallery. Review!

--

Max felt the warm sunshine on her back and smiled in her sleep. It felt so nice that she didn't want to get up. But she had too if she didn't want to be late for school and, as she rolled over, hoped that traffic wouldn't be too bad.

Opening her eyes she yelped and jumped slightly.

There was someone in bed with her.

Evan's eyes shot open when he heard someone yell and jumped when he saw a strange woman next to him. "Uh…what are you doing in my bed?" he asked, wondering if he had had too much to drink last night after getting off-duty at the SGC.

"Your bed? This is _my_ bed." Max said, wondering what the hell was going on.

Evan laughed at the statement. "How can it your bed since we're in my apartment…" he trailed off as he realized that this wasn't his bedroom. "We're not in my place."

"Or mine." Max said, wondering if this was some kind of twisted joke that her friends set up at her expense. Looking at the stranger, she asked, "Did my friends put you up to this?"

"No. Did mine?"

"Nope."

"Then what's going on?" Evan asked, more confused now. "Where are we?"

"Beats me." Max said, shrugging. Just then they both heard a wail come down the hallway.

Looking at each other they spoke at the same time, "Is that yours? It's not mine."

"Mom, dad," Anglia said, appearing in the doorway rubbing her eyes. "aren't you going to get Miranda?"

"Uh…" Max had no idea who the girl at the door was or who Miranda was. This went way beyond a simple prank. "Yeah, just in a minute." She said.

"'K." Anglia then retreated back down the hallway.

Max turned to Evan and mouthed 'mom and dad?'

"Hey, I'm surprised as you are." Evan replied, shrugging. He stuck his hand out and said, "Major Evan Lorne."

Max shook Evan's hand while saying, "Maxine Wainwright. Or is it Lorne?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"MOM!" they heard Anglia shout.

"Coming!" Max replied, getting out and slipping on a robe.

Evan followed and wondered what the hell was going on.

--

Evan walked down the hallway wondering how much they were going to forget if the virus couldn't be stopped and why only those from Earth were being affected. Passing a balcony he heard the sound of someone crying. Backtracking he stuck his head through the doorway and saw that it was Maxine.

Sitting next to her he asked, "Hey, what's the matter?"

Max looked at him and he could see the tears that had fallen. "I can't remember."

"Well, neither can anyone else. That's nothing to cry over."

"I know that everyone else is forgetting, but I can't remember _us_." Max sniffed and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't recall when we met or even how, when we had all of our kids, or anything else. And that's what scares me."

Evan was silent; he had those same worries as well. Putting an arm around her, he gently puller her closer to him. "I know that this is scary, hell I'm scared myself, but you just have to trust that Teyla and Ronon'll help figure out what's going on."

"But what if they don't? I don't want to completely forget you." Max replied leaning her head on Evan's shoulder.

"You won't."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because I'll be here to remind you."

Max laughed, "That has to be the cheesiest line I've ever heard."

"Why thank you." Evan replied, flashing a smile.

"That wasn't a compliment."

--

Max sighed and sat down. It had been a long and stressful day. "_Hell it's been a long and stressful couple of months._" She thought to herself as she closed her eyes and tried to relax. The memory-erasing virus and evil 'Freddy' type crystals aside it seemed that they had been shot at, almost blown up, threatened, and sabotaged every week.

The Athosians left the city, not long after the crystals had been gotten rid of, deciding that they wanted to settle on the mainland and that Atlantis was too dangerous for them to raise their children in.

Max half-agreed with them, sometimes she wondered if she should just decline a renewal of her contract and take the kids back to Earth. Sure there were dangers but getting hit by a car seemed less dangerous in comparison to having the life sucked out of you by a Wraith.

"What's that sound?" Evan asked walking into the room.

"What sound?" Max replied, eyes still closed. While things weren't the way they used to be between the two of them, they were better. But she had expected that; they had been married for over a year now, they weren't newlyweds anymore. The shine had worn off, but they were still happy. Max also thought that the almost dying helped as well. "It's silent."

"That's what I mean. It's never silent around here." Evan said, sitting across from Max and putting her feet on his lap. "Where are the kids?"

"With Alex...I think."

"You think."

"Yeah...they're either with her in the kitchen or with Jason in the Jumper Bay."

"Nice to know that you have a handle on things."

"I try."

"Good to know." Evan laughed. "But that's not the reason I came over."

Max pushed up and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah what gives for the afternoon visit?"

"Well...there's someone who wants to see you."

"Who?"

Evan just smiled, "You'll see. Just get the kids and meet me at the transporter by the main balcony."

--

"She's so big." Carson said, smiling at Miranda. "How old?"

"Almost a year, although it seems longer." Max said, smiling as Miranda grabbed Carson's finger and grinned widely. She had been surprised to find him waiting when she arrived with everyone in tow. At first she couldn't understand how that was possible; Evan had told her what happened, she had seen the coffin, and visited the grave but then it was all explained to her and while she was still skeptical it was nice to see him again.

"She has th' Major's eyes an' your smile." Carson commented, gently ruffling Miranda's copper colored hair. "Although th' hair it a mite surprising."

Max laughed, "It gave everyone a bit of a start."

"I bet." Carson gazed over to Max and the smiled gently faded as he said, "They told me what happened after…well y'know. You've been through hell, lass."

Max nodded, "We all have, but there have been some good things as well. Devon and Anglia are wonderful, I've always had a soft spot for the kids and wanted to help anyway I can. Although sometimes I wonder if it's worth the dangers to raise a family here."

"I can see that, lass. And don' worry about th' risk; it's good ta see small ones runnin' around here, this place needs more laughter. And with another one on th' way-" Carson stopped when he saw the surprised look on Max's face. Chuckling he said, "You didn' know?"

"I knew, but how did you? Keller just confirmed it a few days ago."

"Ah, but you forget that I'm a doctor. I've been around plenty of expectin' women ta know the signs, plus there's always a shine they have."

Max felt her cheeks heat up at the comment and gave an embarrassed smiled. "Don't tell Evan, he doesn't know yet and I want to surprise him."

"Aye, he'll be surprised. An' don't worry; your secret's safe wit' me." Carson said with a wink before he gave Miranda one last ruffle. "I'll need ta be leavin' soon."

Max nodded slowly, knowing that it had to come sooner or later; to everyone on Earth he was dead. Might as well keep up the pretense of it. At least she'll be able to say good-bye this time.

--

"You ok?" Evan asked, coming up behind Max and wrapping his arms around her waist. After making sure the kids were fast asleep, he had found her on the balcony. She had been spending a lot of time there since Carson left a few weeks ago. He was worried that seeing him again had been worse than when he left for the first time.

"I guess." Max replied absently. Watching Carson leave again had been hard but she knew that he was out there and that maybe they'd run into him again, that had eased the sadness a little, but lately she had just been feeling down.

She had no idea if it was because everything that had happened, because of the fact that she was expecting again, or a combination of both. Either way, it was nice to come out to the balcony and let her mind wander.

And she still hadn't told Evan the news; between Carson leaving and then the Replicators showing up again it had gotten shoved to the side and had just stayed there. That and she suddenly wished that she wasn't pregnant again; Max didn't know if she could handle it with everything constantly happening.

Maybe the feeling would go away once she told Evan and no time was better than the present. Looking up at him Max said, "There's something I need to tell you."

Evan raised an eyebrow, "Really?" He hoped that she was finally going to tell him about the baby. Keller had let it slip and practically begged him not to say anything; saying that Max wanted to tell him herself.

He agreed and waited. And waited. And waited. She still hadn't told him and if she didn't soon Lorne resolved to himself that he'd tell her that he knew.

Max nodded her head, "Yup. What do you think of having more kids?"

Evan pretended to consider the question and slowly answered, "Well…I'd think it'd be great. Why?" he asked, smirking at her. "Do you?"

"I guess so." Max said, feeling her stomach tie up into knots. Taking another deep breath to steady herself she continued, "Evan I-" she cut off, pain suddenly shooting though her.

Her knees buckled and Evan caught her as she fell. "What's wrong?" he asked, slowly lowering her to the deck.

"Don't know." Max managed to get past her clenched teeth. A fresh wave of pain washed though her lower section and she bit her lip, trying not to cry out.

"I'm calling Keller."

"Good idea." Max gasped out, clenching her hand into a fist.

--

Evan saw Max begin to stir and sat up, leaning towards her. "Hey there," he said softly. "how do you feel?"

"Mmm…groggy." Max said slowly, trying to focus on Evan. "What happened?"

Lorne hesitated, not sure how to break the news. "Keller isn't exactly sure what happened…but you miscarried."

Max was silent, her still cloudy brain processing the news. Then she remembered everything. Closing her eyes, she let the tears fall down her face silently. "I was going to tell you." she whispered.

"I already knew; Keller told me." Evan replied, taking her hand in his.

Max let a half-smile appear while saying, "I'll let it go this time."

"Why'd you wait so long to tell me? I thought you wanted a big family."

"I do," Max sniffed, looking away from Evan and wiping the tears away. "but I didn't want this one. It's horrible I know, but I just didn't want to raise another one here. I want them to grow up normal and not have to worry about Wraith and Replicators and everything else that we deal with."

"Hey, it's ok." Lorne comforted, gently stroking her hand. "I want them to grow up normal as well but that's not possible here. And don't worry," he leaned closer to her and whispered, "I'm sure that there'll be plenty of opportunities to have more."

Max let a small laugh escape, "I'm sure of it."


	18. Rain Check?

Evan was pulled from sleep by the sound of giggling and resisted the urge to smile. Knowing what was going to happen next, he and his siblings had done this enough when they were young, Lorne pretended to still be sleeping.

"Dad, mom." a voice whispered loudly. "You up?"

Lorne shifted slightly, but still kept his eyes closed while the urge to smile grew. He heard the sound of muffled footsteps as they moved away from him. Beside him, Max shifted and he guessed that she was pretending as well.

"Wake up."

Suddenly a small body landed on his and he let out an 'oof' while opening his eyes. "Okay, okay I'm up." Lorne replied, smiling as Devon and Anglia giggled. Max had gotten off easier, since she had been on her side while Lorne had been on his back, but had been "startled" awake as well.

"You up now?" Devon asked, grinning widely.

Max stifled a yawn and looked at Evan, "I guess so. What about you?"

"Me too."

"Now what?"

"Presents!"

"What makes you think that there are any?" Evan asked, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe Santa didn't make it here."

"_Dad_." Devon said, rolling his eyes. "'Sides we already saw them."

"Well in that case I guess we have to open them." Evan replied, pushing back the covers.

Devon and Anglia jumped from the bed and dashed out of the room, talking a mile a minute. Max got up as well while saying, "Remember when we used to actually sleep in?"

"Ah yes the good old days." Evan drawled stretching.

Max snorted at the statement, "Watch it there, you're starting to sound old."

"You're no spring chicken yourself."

"Oooo, such a witty come back."

Evan just smiled and kissed Max, "You're lucky I love you so much."

"That just means my spell is working." Max teased kissing back.

"DAD!" Devon yelled.

Max sighed, "I guess that we'll have to go out there or they'll start without us."

"They'd be occupied." Evan said smiling.

Max just shook her head and walked out of the room, heading towards Miranda's room. Entering she saw the one-year old already awake.

"Up." She said, raising her arms when she saw Max.

"You're gettin' big." Max said as she took hold of the toddler. "Next thing you know you'll be walking. Then you'll really wear out mommy."

"Up."

"Yes, you're up." Max said shifting her hold. "Now how about we go see what Santa left you."

"'anta!" Miranda exclaimed as Max headed out to the living room.

"Mom's here can we open them now?" Devon asked as Max set Miranda on the floor.

Evan, who was sprawled out on the couch, looked at Max and raised an eyebrow and asked, "Gee I dunno, maybe we should have breakfast first."

"_Please?_"

"Ok, go-" the rest of the sentence was drowned out by the sound of wrapping paper being torn off and Evan grinned as they delved into the presents.

Soon the room was a sea of shiny paper, ribbons, bows, tags, and boxes. While it had been hard to figure out what to get everyone, since there wasn't much that they wanted or needed and they had to pick everything up months in advance, but in the end everyone was happy.

"Is that it?" Evan asked as Devon played with the new football he had gotten, Anglia was scribbling away in a notebook, and Miranda was playing with one of the many cardboard boxes. He swore that she was getting a bigger kick out of the box then the gifts themselves and wondered if they shouldn't have just gotten her that.

"Not entirely." Max said, getting up and heading towards the closet. Pulling out a package, she walked over to Evan and handed it to him. They had agreed to skip presents for each other, but Max saw a paint set that she knew Evan would love; he had run out a few months back and even though he had placed an order it still hadn't arrived.

Evan unwrapped it and saw the tubes of paint and brushes. "Wow." he said, surprised.

"I know that we said that we weren't going to get anything for each other but I saw it and thought that you'd might like it."

"I love it." He said, grinning. "Now I don't feel so guilty that I got you something."

"Really?" Max said, raising an eyebrow. "Care to show me?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Evan replied, setting the package aside and getting up. He walked into their room and soon reappeared holding a small bundle. "I saw it off world and managed to trade for it. Teyla said I got ripped off, but I don't think so." He commented as she took the package.

Max untied the string holding the bundle together and pulled aside the folds to see a necklace with matching bracelet. The necklace was simple; what looked like to be tortoiseshell shaped in a flat disk and shined so much that it caught the light and Max could see all the different colors reflecting, which was held by a sturdy piece of leather. The bracelet was made of the same tortoiseshell-like stone and leather but also had, what looked like, gold in-between the bits of stone.

"I love it." Max said, smiling and then kissing Evan.

"You can thank me better later." He whispered into her ear.

Max felt her cheeks heat up but didn't contradict the statement. She was about to suggest that they all get dressed when Evan suddenly moved away from her talking in a low tone.

He was gone for a few minutes and then came back saying, "I need to go."

"What's up?" Max asked, following him into their bedroom after casting a glance back towards the kids; who were oblivious to what was happening.

"Nothing you need to be worried about." Evan quickly told her, grabbing his tac vest and putting it on. "I'll be back soon and then we can do whatever you want to."

"Ok." Max sighed, watching him get ready and then leave.

--

"Can I stay here tonight mom?"

Max looked up to see Anglia in front of the desk. "Why?" she asked, although she knew the reason.

A faint blush appeared and Anglia stared at the ground, suddenly more interested in digging her foot into the ground than talking. "Well…Jareth asked if I would go to the fire lighting with him."

"Jareth hmm?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow. While she knew that it would happen eventually she just didn't expect it to happen so soon. But then again she shouldn't have been so surprised; Anglia was almost a teenager both by Athosian as well as Evan and Max's standards .

"_Please?_"

"What's your brother doing?"

"Dunno, I think he's gonna go back with you. Can I, huh? I want to say yes before he asks someone else."

"Go get your sister and I'll talk to dad."

"Ok." Anglia sighed and walked out of the school house.

It amazed her how much time had flown by; in her minds eye Anglia and Devon were still nine while Miranda was still a baby, not the four and twelve year olds they were now. They were growing up now and fast, although living in the Pegasus galaxy did that to you.

Tapping her headset she said, "Evan you there?"

"_Yeah what's up?_"

"Anglia got asked to the fire lighting tonight and wants to stay."

"_And the fire lighting is what again?_"

"It's their Valentine's Day."

"_Damn, that's today isn't it?_"

Max shouldn't have been surprised that he had forgotten; she was busier than ever at the school and he had to help Sheppard even more now that Carter had left and put him in charge.

"Yes it is." She replied. "I think it would be good for her to stay, she can sleep over at Helena's and come back in the morning."

"_I dunno, isn't she a bit young for all that?_"

"She's twelve Evan; just accept the fact that she's going to be more interested in boys than blowing things up from now on."

"_But Cadman said she had such a natural talent for demolitions; remember the exploding showers?_"

"Evan…"

"_Ok, ok. She can stay._"

"Thank you. I'll see you later."

"_Yeah, later._"

--

Max walked into their quarters and almost tripped in the dark, worsening her bad mood. Evan had radioed her saying that he was tied up and didn't know when he'd get off while it had taken her longer than normal to get back from the mainland. She carefully picked her way towards the light switch and turned it on so she could see.

When the room lit up, her jaw dropped; there was a trail of rose petals leading from the door to their bedroom. Setting her bag down, she followed the path which made a slight turn towards the bathroom.

Smiling, she heard the door open and then shut. "Aw," she heard Evan say. "you got here before I could light the candles and dim the lights."

Max turned around to see that he was holding a bottle of something and two glasses. "I thought that you were working late."

"Nah, John gave me the night off and I thought that we could have some much needed time together. Where's Devon and Miranda?" he asked, looking around the place.

"On the mainland, I thought that 'randa should see a fire lighting and I know that Devon wanted to stay even though he said he didn't." Max smiled silkily and walked towards Evan, kissing him when she was close enough. "Besides, _I_ also thought that we should have the evening to ourselves. You know," she paused and put her arms around his neck. "so we could do what ever we wanted to."

Evan broke into a grin and tried not to drop the items in his hands. "I like the sound of that."

"Good." Max said, removing her hands and taking the bottle while, after seeing that it was champagne, whistling. "Where'd you get this?"

"I have my sources." Evan said mysteriously.

"You gonna tell me or do I have to pry it out of you?"

"I'm thinking the second option." Evan replied, deeply kissing Max and slowly walking backwards. They were halfway towards the bathroom when Evan's headset chirped.

"_Major, you there?_"

It was John.

Evan ignored the murderous look that Max suddenly sported and answered, "Yes, sir?"

"_I need you to suit up and be in the Control Tower in five._"

"But-"

"Now_, Major._"

Evan sighed inwardly and replied, "Yes sir." Looking at Max he asked, "Rain check?"

"I'll put it with the others." Max replied, with a resigned look.

Giving her one last kiss, he then grabbed his vest and jogged out into the hallway.

Max watched him leave and sighed; glancing at the unlit candles and bubble bath. "_So much for a romantic evening._"

--

"Nothing's going to happen right?" Max asked, looking at Evan as they got ready for the day.

"I swear; we haven't pissed off anyone lately and both the Wraith and Replicators are somewhat behaving themselves. And John promised that he wouldn't even buzz me unless it was a 'we're all doomed' type of thing."

Max was silent for a few minutes, thinking. "Do you still have to wear your headset?"

"I can't take it off."

"If you say so."

"I do." He kissed her and then asked, "Where are the kids staying tonight?"

"At Jodi's. Anglia perked up when I told them, I think she's going to see Jareth again."

Evan's eyebrows rose at the statement, "They've been seeing a lot of each other."

"First crush, Evan. Besides," Max said, brushing her hair and pulling it back into a ponytail. "I think that it's good she's seeing someone from the village; it keeps her close to them."

"I guess." Evan commented. "Does she still want to join the AF?"

"You can ask her yourself, she's your daughter as well you know."

"I know, but you know how teens can be; they want to be something one minute and another the next." Evan's features creased into worry when he saw Max place a hand on her stomach and grimace. "You ok?"

"I don't think Alex's crepes are settling that well." Max said as her stomach lurched again.

"You've been feeling this way for awhile, you don't think…" He trailed off, not wanting to say it but knowing that she knew what he meant.

Max closed her eyes and sighed, "No it's not. We've been trying for awhile and nothing's been happening remember?"

"Just promise me that you'll see Keller if it doesn't let up."

"Keller's on Earth for awhile, Pierce is running the med bay while she's gone."

"Then Pierce. I don't care who checks you out, just as long as it gets done."

"Fine, I will." She glanced at Evan and said, "But don't think that this gets you out of tonight."

"The thought hadn't even crossed my mind."

"Uhuh."

--

"You clean up good." Max said as Evan walked into the living room. He was wearing a white dress shirt with a tan jacket and matching pants.

"I feel like I'm in a monkey suit." He said, slightly grimacing and fiddling with his shirt until he had undone the collar and first button.

"But you're so cute that I have half a mind to just skip dinner and go straight to the sex." Max teased, smiling.

"Don't tease me like that." Evan replied while grinning. "Besides, you're not too bad yourself." She was wearing one of those little black dress's that looked good no matter the occasion and the jewelry set he had gotten her.

"I know." Max replied, smiling as well. Taking his hand she gently pulled him towards the door. "Let's go I'm starving."

"I take it you're feeling better?"

Max laughed, "Guess so."

They stepped out of the transporter and were halfway down the hallway when Evan heard, "_Major you there?_"

"_Nononono._" He thought while casting a glance towards Max. Pausing he said, "I forgot something, I'll be right back."

"…ok." Max said, wondering what it could be.

Evan retreated around a corner and said in a low voice, "What is it?"

"_The Asurans are heading this way. We need everyone to their stations._"

"How long until they get here?" Lorne hissed. He did _not_ want to skip this dinner. It was their anniversary and Max'd go on the war path if she found out.

"_An hour, two at most. I need you in the control tower _now _Major._"

Evan sighed, torn between his responsibility to Atlantis and to Max. They'd rarely had time for each other the last few months; she was busy training new teachers for the expanding school and he had added responsibility now that Sheppard was in command of the Expedition.

"Just go." He heard Max say. Lorne turned around and realized she much have followed him and heard his side of the conversation.

"Max-" he started to say but she cut him off.

"_Go_."

Kissing her hard he said, "I love you." He then ran off towards the transporter while saying, "I'm on my way."

Max sighed and watched him go.


	19. Normal worries for once

"You ok?" Evan asked Max as they got ready for the day. She had been moody ever since the Replicatiors had last showed up and he was at a loss as to what was wrong.

"Just feeling a little woozy." Max said, turning her head so that he wouldn't see her grimace. She continued to feel under the weather and was _actually_ considering the fact that she might be pregnant again. But she didn't want to get her hopes up only to have them dashed; the last time they had thought that she had miscarried again.

"Still?" Evan asked, his concern increasing. If it was the flu or some other bug then it would've passed by now but if she was still feeling sick…

He hoped that if she _was_ then she wouldn't miscarry again. The last time had been bad enough and he didn't think if they could handle another one.

"Yeah, I made an appointment with Pierce this afternoon so he can check me out." Max said gathering her things. "I won't be back until late."

"That's fine; I need to work late as well."

"_Of course._" Max thought. They seemed to meet only in passing nowadays, each busy with their professions. Tears sprang to her eyes as she wondered if they would ever have time for each other again.

"Hey," Evan said, moving towards Max when he saw her start to cry. "what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Max quickly said and wiped the tears away.

"If it was nothing then you wouldn't be crying. What's wrong?"

"I'm just tired, that's all." Max said hurriedly. And it was the truth; she _was_ tired, tired of their plans always being interrupted by some life-threatening situation that required Evan to run off while she waited. A quick glance at her watch told her that they needed to leave in order not to be late.

Walking out of their room she said loudly, "Time to go guys!"

Evan heard the normal flurry of activity as everyone scrambled to finish getting ready for the day and as they walked out, talking a mile a minute about things that they'd do today. Then the door slid shut and Lorne was alone, the silence almost deafening.

He quickly finished getting ready and headed towards his office, where he could look forwards to a rather large stack of paperwork he needed to dig his way though and then a number of debriefings.

Lorne managed to get through a few of the red tape before the first debriefing but when the time came to sit through the meeting he found it hard to stay focused on the subject at hand.

"Major?"

Evan looked towards his CO, startled to see that all the chairs except his and Sheppard's were empty. "Sir?" he asked, standing and gathering his notes.

"You seem to have a lot on your mind. Care to share?"

"Sorry, sir. It's just that with things being so crazy the way they've been I hardly have time for my family."

"Ah, I see." John said, nodding his head. After the last attack from the Replicators he had gone into hiding from Max, knowing that she'd be on the war path for having her anniversary plans interrupted.

He still didn't know if it was safe to show his face around her.

"Why don't you take the day off? Go to the mainland, spend some time with your kids, teach an art class, do whatever."

"Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Yeah, nothing's going on. There aren't any teams in the field and McKay's got people busy on the ZPM regeneration project. It's a quiet day."

"Thanks sir."

"No problem. Ask Max if this gives me brownie points."

Evan smiled and nodded, "Thanks again sir." In no time he was setting his Jumper down next to the ones that ferried the Expedition kids back and forth and was walking towards the village.

He was amazed at how much it had grown since the Athosians had returned from when they were missing. Since they had their own Gate they were able to come and go as they pleased (as long as it didn't interfer with a mission) and were able to continue to trading with other planets, flourishing with an increase in population; at first it had just been the Athosians but then others, whose settlements had been destroyed by the Wraith, found their way to the village and asked if they could settle on the land as well.

At first things had been awkward, with the new arrivals not trusting the Expedition but over time things got better.

Teyla was pleased to see her people doing so well, but they all wondered if the Wraith would come and cull the village. So far it hadn't happened, and they were able to experience what life was like without constant fear of the Wraith, but everyone was still waiting.

Nearing the school, Evan smiled to himself at how big it had grown. What had started out as a two-room building had now expanded into ten and Max was trying to convince them to add a second level; the little ones on the first floor with the older ones on the second. Walking into the building he stuck his head into Max's classroom and was surprised to see it empty, although he shouldn't have been because it was a sunny day and she'd take full advantage of it.

Adjusting his hold on the pack he spotted Jodie. "Hey," he said as he neared her. "you know where Max is?"

"Out back I think." Jodie replied. "Does she know you're here?"

"No," Evan said, shaking his head. "I'd like to keep it a surprise." Jodie nodded her understanding and he turned around to head back outside. Pausing, he slowly turned around and said, "Do you think you could take over her class for the afternoon?"

"Can I ask why?"

"Max has been working hard these last few months and needs a break."

"She has been looking a little under the weather lately…" Jodie trailed off. "I think I can do that. I'll just combine my class with hers."

"I owe you." Evan said as he moved towards the doors. Looking around he spotted Anglia talking with some of her friends. "Anglia!" he said, walking towards her.

Anglia looked to where Evan was and excused herself for a second. "What's wrong?" she asked. He never came to the mainland in the middle of the day unless something was about to blow up or he was going to do something really stupid (but then again he was her father so he was always doing something stupid).

"Nothing, can't I just see my oldest kid?" Evan asked, slipping on a cheesy grin. Anglia raised an eyebrow that disturbingly mirrored his own, and the grin faded. "Ok, you got me. I need you to watch 'randa tonight."

"But dad, Jareth asked me out!" Anglia protested, not happy at the news.

"Well tell him that your mean father is making you watch your sister." Anglia frowned and shot Evan a murderous look. It was all he could do not to burst out laughing, he thought he wouldn't be having a conversation like this for at least nine more years, but his face twitched and a small chuckle escaped.

"It's not funny!"

"No…it's not." Evan said, shoulders shaking at the effort of holding in the laugh. Taking a deep breath he sobered up. "I'm sorry; your mom's been working hard lately and needs a night off. Please just do it." He all but begged.

"Fine." Anglia huffed, still not happy at having her plans changed. "What do you want me to do?"

"I'm sure you'll come up with something and thanks." Evan then walked back towards the building, heading towards the back and rounding the corner in time to be doused in soda.

Max's eyes went wide when Evan suddenly appeared and a smile broke on her face when he got drenched. Putting a hand to her mouth she tried to bite back the laughter that was threatening to escape and her shoulders shook from the effort.

Evan blinked as rivulets of the carbonated liquid ran down his face and tried to look for a dry spot on his uniform to wipe his face with, but couldn't fine one.

Still smiling Max managed to stop laughing long enough to say, "Ok, I think we're done here for the morning. Go clean up and then you can head home for lunch."

As they walked towards the front of the building she asked, while still laughing, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I planned to take a soda shower today anyways." He looked at Max with a raised eyebrow. "You can't stop doing that can you?"

That just made Max laugh even harder, and she leaned against the wall for support. "I'm sorry," she said, catching her breath. "I let them choose a science experiment that they want to see and it's always that. It's so popular that I have to figure it into my budget every year."

"Just give me advance notice next time you plan to do that." Evan griped good-naturedly. "I don't want a repeat of today."

"You got it. What happened to all those meetings you had today?"

"John gave me the day off. Told me to spend sometime with you guys." Evan said, steering Max away from the door and towards where the Jumpers were.

"What's going on?"

"You are coming with me and taking the afternoon off to do whatever you want to."

Max stopped and pulled herself from his hold. "Whoa, hold on there. I can't just up and leave; I have class remember? And after that I have to start next year's budget."

"Class is taken care of." Evan said, taking Max's books from her hand and continuing, "Jodie said that she'd combine hers and yours for the afternoon, the budget'll still be there tomorrow, and Ang is going to watch Miranda."

"I dunno…" Max hesitated.

"Max," Evan said moving closer to her. "we haven't had time for each other in months. Who knows when we'll get another chance?"

"Anything I want to do?"

"Anything you want to do." He reiterated.

"Fine, but on one condition."

"What?"

"You shower first."

Evan chuckled at the request, "Only if you join me."

--

"I don't wanna go." Max said, turning around to face Evan and moving closer to him.

"But you have to." He said, gently caressing her shoulders. "I don't want you to keel over because you refused to take care of yourself."

"But I'll have to get dressed."

"I swear that we'll pick up where we left off when you get back."

"Fine." Max said, getting out of bed and not looking happy. "You still have the bottle of champagne?" She asked, getting dressed.

"Still uncorked. Why?" Evan asked, sitting up and stretching his hands over the headboard as he watched her shimmy into her jeans.

"Well," Max said as she stood at the foot of the bed and then slowly crawled on top of it towards him. "I was thinking that we could finally use it." She kissed him and asked softly, "What do you think?"

"I think that you're gonna be late if you don't leave now." Evan replied, kissing Max once and pulling her away from him.

Max glared at him, "Fine. Be that way."

She moved to get off the bed but Lorne stopped her. "Hey," he said looking at her. "I just want to make sure everything's all right with you."

"I know."

--

John turned the corner and saw Max coming towards him. "_Oh crap._" He thought as he glanced around looking for a door to escape through, he had no idea if she was still pissed at him for ruining their plans the last time, but couldn't find on.

The _one_ time he actually wanted to find a lab and there wasn't one…karma was a bitch.

"Ma'am." He said, hoping that his voice wouldn't betray the fear he felt right now.

"Colonel." Max said, smiling at him as she walked past. "Have a nice day."

"Uh…you too." John replied, stopping in his tracks and wondering what had just happened. He had been expecting Max to tear him a new one about how he had to keep on stealing the Major whenever they wanted to have some 'alone' time, but instead…instead he got a smile and a wish for a nice day.

Realizing he didn't want to think to much as to _why_ she was in a good mood, John just decided to take it at face value and continued on his way.

--

"What have you been feeling?" Kevin asked as he opened up her file and waited with a pen in hand, ready to start taking notes.

"Tired, mood swings, I can't seem to keep anything stronger than water down, and just a general grumpiness." Max supplied as Kevin started to write.

"How long?"

"For awhile…maybe a month of two."

"And you're not…" He let the question hang, knowing that would've been the first thing she would have tried to find out.

Max shook her head, "I took a test but it came back negative."

"Well," Kevin said, closing the file and putting away his pen. "they're not that accurate to begin with. Plenty of people have gotten negatives when in fact they're positive." He moved closer to Max and said, "I'm just gonna take some blood and then run a few more tests."

"Okay…can I ask why?"

"Well from what you've told me it could just be normal, but I'm slightly concerned about your two miscarriages."

"You think that they could be the cause?"

"I don't think so, but I just want to err on the side of caution." Kevin said, as he pulled on a pair of gloves. "Normally I'd send you to an OB-GYN but since we don't have one here we need to work with what we've got."

"If you're sure."

He looked Max straight in the eye, "I wouldn't do it unless I was."

--

"So what'd Doc say?" Evan asked as Max walked into their bedroom.

"He doesn't know yet. Kevin wants to wait for the results of the blood analysis and the other tests before making a conclusion." Max replied, undressing and crawling back into bed.

Evan just nodded and wrapped his arms around her. She moved closer to him and they lay in silence until he couldn't stand it any longer and had to say something to break it. "I filled the tub and added the bubble bath. The candles just need to be lit and the champagne opened. What do you say?"

"Actually I'm kinda tired." Max said faintly, not wanting to pretend everything was fine when they weren't. "Is it all right if we just lay here?"

"Anything you want babe." Evan replied, blinking back tears and glad that she couldn't see them. One of them needed to be strong and at the moment it fell on Evan. "We'll get through this."

"I know."


	20. News

A/N: I know you all are reading the story, 11 alerts is nothing to sneeze at. Review or I might have to break out my army of plot bunnies and unleash them on you.

Max felt like time was dragging, each minute taking an hour to pass and every hour a lifetime. She didn't know what was worse; knowing or not knowing.

It had been a few days after her visit with Pierce and he still hadn't called her with the results. She was torn as to what she wanted them to be. Obviously she wanted nothing to be wrong, but at the same time she wondered if there _was_ something wrong; they had been trying to have more children but it just wasn't happening.

Realizing that she wasn't going to be focused, Max finished up for the morning and then dismissed class for the day. Packing up her stuff she walked out the door to be greeted by an Airman. "Can I help you?" she asked, wondering what was up.

"No ma'am, just delivering this from Colonel Sheppard." He said, handing her a manila envelope.

"Uh…thanks." She said while he just nodded and walked away. Opening the envelope she glanced at the top of the paper and saw that it was a revised budget for next year. Raising an eyebrow, Max wondered how the IOA had gotten it back to her so quickly. Scanning the top sheet of paper, her eyes narrowed and she let out a frustrated sigh.

"What's that?"

Max looked up to see Jodie peering over her shoulder. "Take a look for yourself." She said, handing the stack of papers over to her.

Jodie quickly scanned the sheets and her eyes went wide. "You're kidding me right?"

"I wish."

"Can they do this to us?"

"Apparently." Max said, taking back the stack and sticking them back into the envelope. "Since I'm headed back to Atlantis I'll ask Colonel Sheppard what this is about."

"Not feeling well?" Jodie asked, concern showing on her face for Max.

"No," Max shook her head. "I just can't keep seem to focus on anything today."

"Ah. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Could you tell everyone that I want to meet with them in the morning before class starts…oh say two hours before? I have to tell them 'bout the changes."

"Will do."

--

John heard a knock and looked up to see that it was Max. "This is a surprise." He said standing while motioning for her to enter.

"I hope that I'm not interrupting anything." Max said as she sat down.

"No, I was just trying to decide what paperwork not to do first." John replied, slightly smiling. Max didn't find anything funny at the moment and just raised an eyebrow. The smile faded and John cleared his throat, "What's on your mind?"

"This is." Max said, taking out the papers she had gotten and handed them to Sheppard. "Did you know about this?"

John quickly flipped through the pages and shook his head, "No all Woolsey told me was to give it to you ASAP."

"No explanation at all?" Max asked, wondering what was going on. "They didn't tell you why my budget's been cut?"

"I'm surprised as you are."

Max sighed and got out of the chair, crossing the floor towards the windows. "What am I going to do?"

"Well you could go along with the cuts-"

"But then I'd have to let go half of the teachers; they've invested too much of their time and effort into helping build up the school that I just can't do that. And what we pay them has helped when the harvest haven't been that good." Max interrupted John, not seeing many options at the moment. It was kind of a 'lose-lose even more' situation.

"or you could go against the IOA and justify every expense." John continued as if she hadn't broken in.

Max was silent for a few seconds, pondering the suggestion. "How do you propose I do that?"

"Got me." John said, shrugging. "That's up to you to figure out."

"You don't make it any easier do you?" Max asked, the corner of her mouth twitching.

--

Evan walked up the stairs towards the office and saw Max exit. "Hey," he said, surprised at seeing her. "what are you doing here?"

"I let class out early, couldn't concentrate." Max replied, leaving out her budget problems; he had enough to worry about without her adding her own troubles. "Why are you here?"

"Sheppard wanted to talk to me." Evan said, noticing that she didn't fully answer his question. Wondering what was going on he asked, "Everything all right?"

"Yeah…I'm just tired." Max said, avoiding his gaze. "I think I'll go lie down for a while."

"If you feel any worse call Pierce ok?"

"I will." Max gave him a quick kiss and then headed down while Lorne continued on his way up. As she reached the hallway her headset chirped.

"_Max, it's Kevin. Could you come to the infirmary right away?_"

--

Max walked through the door still trying to process what Kevin had told her. Flopping down on the couch she wondered how she was going to break the news to Evan and how he'd take it.

The door slid open and she realized that she wouldn't have to wait long to find out. "Hey." She said, smiling faintly. Noticing the smile on his face and the way his eyes were lit up she wondered if he already knew. "I take it you got some good news."

"You bet." Evan replied, still smiling. "Guess what happened to me today."

"Uh...let's see, you got new guns to play with."

"Nope. Guess again." Evan said, setting himself next to Max and wrapping an arm around her.

"You finally beat up Ronan for a change."

"I wish; got my ass handed to me like always."

"Then I give up. What's the good news?"

"Not good news, _great_ news. How does Lieutenant Colonel Evan Lorne sound to you?"

Max looked at Evan who was grinning even bigger than before. "You got a promotion?"

"Yup, Sheppard just told me. Said that I've been doing a hell of a job since I got here and that I deserved it."

"But I thought because of all those marks on your records that it wouldn't happen."

"That's what I thought as well, but he said that's the reason it took so long."

"Either way that's great." Max said, smiling. "Now I have some news for you."

"Ok, hit me with your best shot." Lorne said, still riding the high that the news of his promotion gave him.

"Kevin got my test results back." Max said, focusing on her clasped hands.

He looked her expression and the grin slowly faded. "And…"

Max took a breath, it was now or never. "Well…he wants me on bed rest right away."

"Ok…but what does that have to do with anything?"

Max tore her eyes away from her hands and said, while breaking into a grin, "I'm pregnant."


	21. Winds of Change

Evan didn't know what to say. Well he did, it's just that at the moment the connection between his brain and his mouth had stopped working.

Max was pregnant.

"H-How is that possible?" he asked when his mouth finally started working again.

Her mouth twisted into an amused smile, "Well Evan, when two people really like each other-"

"I know _how_." Evan retorted, interrupting Max as she laughed. "What I mean is how could it happen? We've been trying for awhile and, like you said before, nothing's been happening."

Max shrugged, "You got me. I'm sure there's a long explanation with a bunch of complex-sounding words that could describe it but I'm just happy knowing that I am."

"Compared to this my promotion is nothing." Evan said, brushing a strand of hair away from Max's face. "How long have you known?"

"Pierce just told me. He ran everything twice to make sure, that's why it took so long." She replied, snuggling close to him.

"Well as long as you're going to be ok."

"That's why he wants me in bed right away; he thinks that maybe the last two-" Max cut off, it was still painful to think, let alone talk, about the two she had lost. "well anyways he ordered me to get in there and not get out unless I absolutely had to."

"I can agree with that." Evan kissing Max as he gently pushed her down onto the couch.

"Evan," Max said in-between his kisses and tried to push him away. "can't you wait until later? The kids'll be home soon."

"We've got time." He said softly, grabbing her wrists and pushing them to the side.

He started to kiss her again when the faint 'hiss' of the door being opened filled the room and they heard, "Agh, I don't _need_ to see this!"

They glanced up to see Anglia squishing her eyes shut while having a hand clapped over Miranda's and Devon was avoiding their gaze.

"You guys are home." Evan replied hastily as he sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

"Well yeah," Anglia replied in a 'how dumb can you be' tone. "we do live here."

"Let me rephrase; you're home early."

"Oh, well they let us out of school early. Again."

"Have a seat guys." Max said, while pushing to one side of the couch to make enough room for one of them to sit there. "We need to tell you something."

"Are we moving to the mainland?" Devon asked, smiling as he sat down.

"No, that's not it." Evan replied he helped boost Miranda up to the couch so she could sit in-between him and Max. "I got a promotion today."

"Neat, what are you now?"

"Lieutenant Colonel, but it won't be official for a few more weeks. There'll be a ceremony and reception afterwards."

"That it?" Anglia asked, moving to stand.

"No, there's more." Evan said, reaching across to squeeze Max on the shoulder. "Your mom has some news as well."

"Is it about the cuts?" Devon asked, looking at Max.

"_Devon_." Max said, shooting daggers at her teenage son.

"What? I'm only asking 'cause it's all over school. I think that's why they let us out early."

"What cuts?" Evan asked, frowning. If there was something happening with the school why didn't she tell him?

"I'll tell you later." Max said, softly. "And no, it's not about the cuts." She replied, shaking her head. "In about nine months or so there'll be a new addition to the family."

"We get a doggie?" Miranda asked, her face lighting up.

"No, not a pet." Max said, smiling at the question. "Mommy's going to have a baby."

"No way." Anglia said, looking startled. Max nodded and Anglia was silent for a few seconds letting the news sinking. "Oh boy."

"Aren't I your baby?" Miranda asked, her blue eyes swimming with tears and looking like she might start crying any moment.

"Of course you are, Munchkin." Evan said, picking her up and setting her on his lap. "You'll always be my baby; it's just that you're gonna be a big sister soon."

"Like Angie?" Miranda asked, snuggling closer to Lorne.

"Just like Angie." He soothed. "Now how about we get some ice cream to celebrate?"

--

Evan shifted and turned so that he was facing Max but instead of a warm body was greeted with cold sheets. It took a moment for him to realize that she was gone and as he sat up, wondered where she was. A light gave him a clue and Lorne got up, moving softly so he wouldn't wake the others.

Walking into the living room, he saw Max resting her head on the glass table across from the couch (both of which were covered with papers). Kneeling, he gently shook her and softly said, "Hey, what are you doin' up?"

"Hmm?" Max asked sleepily, lifting her head and running a hand over her face.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" Evan asked, moving to his knees.

"Mmm, can't." Max replied, still half-asleep. Picking up a pencil she tried to focus her tired eyes on the plethora of papers and spreadsheets on the table. "I need to have everything figured out for the meeting tomorrow with Woolsey."

Evan took the pencil from her hand and set it down out of her reach. "You need your sleep, no more late nights for you." He replied, helping her stand.

"But-" Max protested as he led her away from the chaos of numbers and spreadsheets and towards their bedroom.

"No buts." Lorne interrupted. "The meeting's not until the afternoon so you'll have plenty of time to finish."

Max scowled, but when combined with her sleepy face it produced such a cute look that Evan couldn't help but chuckle softly. "I hate you." She grumbled while stifling a yawn.

"I love you too."

--

"Are you sure there's nothing that can be fixed?" Max asked, trying her very best not to give into the urge to bash her head into the table. The fact that she hadn't been able to get the alternate budget finished didn't put her on the good side of the IOA's or that Woolsey seemed determined not to hear her out.

"I told you before; either go along with the revised budget or find some other way to reduce costs."

"And _I_ told you that I _do_ have an alternate budget but it's not finished. I just need some more time." Max all but begged.

Woolsey sighed and stood. "The IOA has given you more than enough time. Either have it finished before the Apollo is set to leave or I'll assume that you've decided to go with ours."

"Wait." Max said standing. Woolsey paused and she took that as her cue to continue, "There's a third option." She didn't want to think about it, but she was desprate and at the moment it was better than what she was faced with. The lesser of three evils, as it were.

"Really?" Woolsey asked, his curiosity piqued. Walking back to the chair he had occupied, he sat back down while saying, "Then let's here it."


	22. Pressure? What Pressure?

A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up; school, work, homework, runaway bunnies, and life in general decided to pounce on me at the same time. But I'll try to get the rest up as soon as I can. Review!

"So how does being a Lieutenant Colonel feel?" John asked Evan as they talked after the promotion ceremony.

"The same as when I was a Major, except with more pay." Evan replied, grinning.

John chuckled and said, "Expect the same when you're a full Colonel plus more paperwork. Too bad Max couldn't be here. Where is she again?"

"Bed rest." He said, while scanning the crowd for Miranda. Spotting her with Jason he continued, "She's been pretty good about it so far, but it's only been a few weeks so we'll see how long it takes her to try and escape."

"Well just so you know there's a pool going as to how long she'll stay put."

Evan chuckled and opened his mouth to reply when 'Gate activation' sounded. He wondered what was going on because there were only two teams off world at the moment and none of them were due to check in for awhile. Seeing a dark look suddenly appear on John's face he guessed that it wasn't good.

John just motioned with his head towards the hallway and off they went, unbuttoning their dress jackets on the way.

"What's going on?" John yelled as he and Evan bounded up the steps.

"It's Major Lawrence's team." Chuck replied. "They're under attack from Wraith."

"Son of a bitch." John softly swore. The Wraith had been content to fight among themselves for the last couple of years, surfacing only to cull a planet but lately the culls had started to come more frequently and stronger each time. If this kept up then the culling's would get as bad as they were the first three years of the Expedition.

"Lorne take your team and Jason's to rescue the Major." He said, knowing that the quicker they acted the more likely they'd get everyone back safely. "Radio Lawrence and tell him to sit tight; we're coming after him."

--

"Hey there, how'd your meeting go?" Evan asked as Max walked into their place with the kids in tow, who were chattering happily away about the day's events. They had gotten Lawrence and his team back with a little trouble but had still made it back before them.

"Well…I got some more time to finish my budget." Max said, dropping her backpack to the floor and walking over to where Evan was, sitting next to him. "I just need overhaul everything."

"Such as?" Evan asked, raising an eyebrow.

Max took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "For one thing there won't be any more 'science with an entertainment value' experiments, that was the first thing to get the axe, it looks like I won't be getting that second level to the school and I have to take a pay cut."

"Uhuh." Evan said, nodding his head slowly wondering what she wasn't telling him. "How much of a pay cut are you taking?"

"Well…eightyfivepercent." Max mumbled the last bit, turning her head away from him as she said it.

"What was that?"

"Eighty-five percent." She repeated. "I'm taking an eighty-five percent pay cut ok?"

Evan didn't know what to say. He just looked at Max with what he could guess as a stunned expression on his face. "Really?" he asked when he had found his voice.

"Yeah…it was the only way to keep the school going. It was either that or quit." Max replied, blinking back tears. "And I have to get rid of a quarter of the teachers, mostly ones that I just hired so it's like I did all that training for nothing." She paused and sniffed, "It's just not _fair_, we were doing so well and now-"

"Hey hey hey." Evan said, breaking in. "It's ok, I know that you'll figure out something."

Max sighed and leaned into Evan as he wrapped an arm around her, "Everything was going fine until the IOA stuck it's nose where it didn't belong."

"Welcome to my world."

"There's one more thing." Max said, looking up at Evan.

"What's that?" he asked, wondering what more there could be.

"We need to move to the mainland."

"You're kidding right?"

"Unfortunately no. I tried to figure out a way around it, but it's not happening-"

"You're damn right it's not happening." Lorne said standing. "It's not safe there."

"It's not safe _here_." Max countered, standing as well. "There's a better chance of one of us getting hurt by some scientist not paying attention to what buttons he's pushing here then on some accident on the mainland. Besides, it's getting to be a hassle to travel back and forth every day and the IOA also cut our escorts so it's either get rid of the school on the mainland or we move."

"I don't care, you are _not_ moving to the mainland." Evan replied, starting to get angry. "And _do not_ fight me on this Max, I'm not going to risk my family because the IOA says 'jump' and you respond 'how high?'."

Max was floored; she hadn't expected Evan to say that. Gaping she asked, "Are you saying that I _wanted _to go along with the cuts?"

"I didn't see you fighting them." Evan shot back.

"Actually I have. But you wouldn't know that because you're always running off. Tell me Evan, when was the last time you said good-night to Miranda or talked with Anglia or Devon?"

"You think I _want_ to go out there?!" Evan yelled, pointing towards the general area of the Control Tower. "You think that I actually want to fight Wraith when I know that I might not come back? That I want to miss tucking in Miranda or finding out what Anglia and Devon did at school? It's not like I can say no when a team out there needs our help. We don't leave our people behind."

"I know _that_." Max snapped, moving towards where her backpack was and picked it up. "I also know that it's Country first, Air Force second, and family third. I'm not completely stupid."

Evan closed his eyes and sighed. "Where are you going?" he asked wearily, not wanting to fight anymore.

Max took a deep breath before turning around to face him, "I am going to fix the budget and tell Woolsey where to stick the IOA's."

Evan could see the hurt reflected in her eyes but refused to budge; with the Wraith starting to attack more and more it was only a matter of time until they attacked the settlement or one that knew where the Expedition was. When, _if_, that happened he didn't want Max and the others to be in the path of danger.

But he couldn't let her leave without trying to explain. "Max-" he started to say but she cut him off.

"I get it ok?" Max shot back. "I'll be back later." She said, turning away from him and walking outside.

Evan watched her go and sighed. "_Open mouth insert foot._" He thought ruefully. Hearing movement behind him, Lorne turned around to see red hair and blue eyes peeking out from the doorframe. "Hey Munchkin," he said, moving towards Miranda. "wanna get some ice cream?"

"Uhuh." She replied, nodding. "Where'd mommy go?"

"She has some stuff to take care of."

"When's she gonna come back?"

"Dun-." Evan cut off when he heard John over his headset, "_Major I need you and your team to suit up._"

He inwardly sighed, "Yes sir." Walking past Miranda he headed towards Anglia's room and knocked on the door. "Ang, open up."

The door slid open and Anglia stood in the middle of the door way, "What?"

"I need you to watch Miranda."

"Can't mom?"

"She's busy and I need to leave." Evan said giving her a 'I don't have the time to argue' expression.

"Fine." Anglia sighed, clearly not happy about having to watch Miranda but wasn't going to push it.

--

"What'd you and Max fight about this time?" Jason asked as they walked towards the town. Another settlement had been attacked but had managed to contact Atlantis before all communications were cut. After the Apollo dropped off Lorne and his team, Jason and his, as well as a med team (with Keller tagging along) they could faintly hear darts zipping around in the distance and knew that they might be too late to help everyone but maybe they could still offer some type of aid.

"How'd you know?" Lorne asked, looking at the younger man.

"She came over to our place. Lydia took one look at her face and ordered me to bring out a bottle of wine. They took it and scamped out as fast as they could. As they left I managed to hear the words 'Lorne' and 'idiot'." Jascon replied, while grinning. "So I figured that you two had another row."

"You should become a cop with those observational skills of yours." Lorne deadpanned as Jason let out a laugh. "Just the normal; she's pissed because I keep having to go off world, am never around, and won't let her and the kids move to the mainland just because the IOA says so." Evan replied while scanning around for any hidden Wraith. "Don't get me wrong; I'm just as mad as she is about having to leave them all the time but with the Wraith stepping up their activity I'm not gonna risk their lives just to satisfy some stuffy bureaucrat in a suit."

"Ah…gotta love hormones. They fuck everything up." Jason said, nodding in understanding. "That's why Lydia and I stopped at one; didn't want to go through all that again. And the Wraith is why I'm glad they're going back to Earth, it's just getting too dangerous again."

"Sure is." Evan replied. It didn't take them long after that to reach the village and then everyone jumped into action trying to help those who were still alive while digging through the rubble to see if there were any survivors.

"I need some help here!" Jason shouted as he tried to lift a large piece of rubble trying to free some trapped villagers.

"I got it." Evan said, moving to where Jason was. The debris was loose and Lorne slipped a number of times as he climbed up. "On three." He said, getting a good grip. "One…Two…Three!"

They pushed and slowly it fell to the side. Once there was an opening they reached down to help those trapped. "Everyone one out?" Jason asked one of them.

"There are a few still down there; some are hurt as well."

"Gottcha…hey Doc!" Evan yelled to get Keller's attention. "We got some wounded down here!"

"Coming." Keller called back. She finished bandaging a wound and then scrambled up to join them. "How many?"

"Jay's down there; lemme ask him." Evan replied, moving closer to the opening. "Hey Jay! How many are hurt?"

"'bout three or four, none of them serous though." Jason called up.

"I'm coming down." Keller said, tossing her bag down and then sitting down to jump herself.

"Woah, hold on a minute." Evan said, holding her back. "It's a bit of a jump, use the rope we sent down."

"Will do."

"Colonel!"

Evan turned around to see Bates waving his hand to get his attention, "What is it Bates?"

"Need a hand over here."

"On my way." Evan replied, starting to scramble down. He made it to the ground with little trouble and had just started towards the Major when suddenly he found himself on the ground and then everything went dark.


	23. One day at a time

The door slid open and Max saw that it was Lydia. "Hey," she said giving her friend a weak smile. "come on in."

"Thanks." Lydia replied softly as she moved past Max. "Where are the kids?"

"On the mainland. I didn't think that they needed to see Evan-" Max cut off as tears suddenly forced their way forwards. "I'm sorry," she apologized, wiping them away with the tissue she had in her hands. "I can't seem to stop."

"Hey it's ok; I've been doing the same thing."

Both of them fell silent at they sat down. They were close together yet at the same time they were miles apart, both of them thinking about the events of last week, when everything changed.

The explosion off-world had claimed a number of lives; including Keller and Jason. The Apollo was still in Pegasus, delaying their departure until everything was figured out and the bodies loaded into cold storage for the trip home.

"You still leaving with the Apollo?" Max asked, breaking the silence.

Lydia nodded, "I'm done with this place."

"Why?"

"Why do you think? This place has taken too many of our friends; Carson, Crysta, Radek...the list stretches on with Jason being the latest addition. The Wraith killed my husband, Max. My _husband_. I can't get him back no matter how much I want to. I've given too much and gotten too little in return."

"We all have." Max replied quietly, eyes brimming again and thinking of her own losses. "Are you still going to work at the SGC?"

"Don't know." Lydia said, shrugging. "Right now I'm trying to take it one day at a time. What about you; are you going to stay?"

"Not sure. The IOA has yet to approve my budget but I don't think they will, not after I told Woolsey what he could do with theirs. "

Lydia let a ghost of a smile appear briefly on her face, "I remember when that happened. Seems like a long time ago."

"Yeah it does. Anyways if I do it won't be too much of a loss. I haven't felt at home here since I came back with the Athosians." Max scooted closer to Lydia and said, "If there's anything I can do, let me know."

"I will. How are you holding up?"

"I'm three months pregnant while dealing with all of this…how do you _think_ I'm doing?"

Lydia let out a short laugh and, for a moment, seemed her old self. But it faded as quickly as it had appeared. "How are the kids taking it?"

"Anglia and Devon seem to be handling it pretty well; they're old enough to understand what's happened, but Miranda…" Max trailed off. Swallowing thickly she said, "before she left she asked me where he was an-and I-I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth."

"You know that you're going to have to eventually." Lydia supplied, looking at Max.

"I know, but I don't think I can quite yet. It's just too painful at the moment."

"You're preaching to the choir, Max." Lydia said, standing. "I need to finish packing. Are you coming to the funeral?"

"Of course, you know that I wouldn't miss it for the world."

--

Max walked into the infirmary, not sure if she should even be here. Right now she was unsure about a lot of things. Making her way to the main office, she stopped just short of the threshold wondering if she should even ask Kevin what was on her mind.

Kevin heard movement just outside the door and looked up to see Max turning around as if to leave. "Max?" he asked, standing.

She paused and turned to face Pierce. "Yes?"

"Everything all right?" he asked, moving past the desk and towards her.

"Given the circumstances, I guess." She replied, flashing her friend a forced smile. "Actually…there's something I want to ask you."

"Then have a seat." Kevin said, gently guiding her back into his office. Since Keller had been killed he had become the new CMO, the IOA signing off on it right away so they didn't have to be bothered to look for a replacement for the replacement. "What's on your mind?"

"I was wondering…well if you could give me something to sleep." Max stared at her hands as she spoke; it wasn't often she had trouble sleeping, but she hadn't had a good nights rest since Evan went off world.

Kevin furrowed his eyebrows together when Max made her request known, "You having trouble?" Max nodded her head, not able to speak. "Want to talk about it?" he asked gently, knowing that sometimes his patients just needed an ear to listen to.

Max shook her head, "Not right now. I…just can't."

"That's ok. How about I give you something for tonight and then if you're still having trouble come back and we'll talk?"

"Thanks." Max smiled weakly.

"I won't give you something too strong, since you're three months along, but it'll be enough to knock you out for the night." Kevin kept up a stream of chatter as he walked over to the dispensary, knowing that Max needed to keep her mind from dwelling on certain subjects.

After taking the meds that he gave her, Max knew she needed to leave but didn't want to; their place was just too empty at the moment. Even though she was trying to spare the kids from seeing her like this there were times where she thought about just heading over to the mainland to join them but knew that she'd just feel the same be it here or there.

Kevin noticed Max's reluctance to leave and realized that she must feel helpless. "Would it be all right if I had you stay overnight for observation?" he asked.

"Why, is there something wrong?" Max asked, slightly confused.

"No, but I just want to be on the safe side. You've been through a lot recently and all that stress can't be good for the twins."

"Oh, yeah…I guess you're right." Max said nodding slowly. She realized that Evan hadn't known when he left, Max had been too angry at him to tell him the news. "That's fine."

"Good." Kevin then let his professional personality drop and as he sat on the edge of the bed he gently said, "If you want to talk…I'm here for you."

"I know."

--

"Why do we have to go?" Miranda asked as Max pulled the black dress over her head.

"Because Uncle Jason was your god-father and Auntie Lydia and Bruce need us to be there." Max replied, smoothing down the collar. "Now go get your shoes." She said, gently pushing Miranda forwards to get her moving. Walking out into the hallway she called out, "Anglia, Devon you ready?"

"In a minute."

"Almost."

"Well hurry up or we'll be late." Max yelled as she walked into the guest room to grab her earrings. Glancing at the clock she saw that they had five minutes before they were late. "C'mon guys, let's go!"

"Coming." Anglia said as she stepped into the hallway with her winter jacket. Fiddling with the dress she frowned, "I still don't see why Devon and I have to wear black. Back home we'd wear something bright."

"I know that Ang," Max said, as she put on her earrings and walked back towards Miranda's room as she did so. "but black is morning colors here and we don't want to draw any more attention than necessary."

"Fine." Anglia grumbled, putting on her dress coat.

"'randa you ready yet?"

"Yes." Miranda said, getting up from the floor.

"Good, let's go." Max said, grabbing the rest of the coats and pushing her children down the stairs. "Put your coats on as we get in the car, we need to leave now."

"Can't we take a Jumper?" Miranda asked as they walked towards the rental car the SGC had gotten for them for the time being.

"Shhh 'randa," Devon hushed. "you can't say that out here."

"Why not?" she questioned as Max strapped her into the child seat.

"Because it's a secret." Max replied once she sat down in the drivers seat. "You think you can keep 'lantis a secret?"

"Uhuh. When can we go back?"

Max was silent as they drove down the street, not sure how to answer the question. The IOA had turned down her budget and then said that her services were no longer needed; that the Athosians were more than able to run a school for themselves and since Pegasus was getting too dangerous again they were insisting that all the families leave. Truth be told she wasn't heartbroken over the news; Atlantis had lost the shine and comfort that it had once held. There were just too many painful memories now.

Like Lydia had said, they had given too much and gotten too little in return.

Her grip tightened on the steering wheel as those thoughts came unbidden and she wondered if she could get through today without breaking down.

"Mom?" Anglia asked softly, noticing Max's reaction. "You ok?"

"Hmm?...Yeah I'm fine." She replied, keeping her gaze on the roadway. "I don't know, Munchkin. We might be here for a while."

--

"We're back!" Max called out as she stepped inside while taking off her coat.

"Hey," Evan said, using his crutches to move towards them. "how was it?"

"Nice, those who could get away from the SGC were there and so were a few of Jason's regular friends." Max replied after giving him a hello kiss. "What are you doing up? I thought Lam told you to stay in bed."

"Well it seemed a bit lonely in there." Evan replied with a mischievous grin as he slowly followed Max as she walked towards the kitchen.

Max rolled her eyes but couldn't help and smile at the comment. "You're hopeless." She commented, pulling out a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

"Got a call from General Carter while you were gone." Evan mentioned, sitting down in a chair.

"Really, about what?"

Evan hesitated, not knowing what she'd think of the news, "Well…she wants me, us actually, to join the Ninth Chevron project."

Max stiffened when she heard those words. Slowly turning around she faced Evan, looking at him, and could see from the look in his eyes that he wasn't joking. "Why?" she asked.

"Said that they were looking for people to go over there and help with their version of Atlantis."

Max walked slowly towards the table and sat heavily down in a chair across from Evan. "And what did you say?"

"I told her that we needed to talk about it." Evan could see the surprise in Max's eyes and continued, "I think it's great, we can bring the kids with us-"

"No." Max said simply, interrupting Evan.

"What do you mean no?"

"I mean that I'm not going through all that again."

"But it could be a great opportunity, and Carter said that it might put me on the fast track to making full Colonel-"

"Is your career _all_ you think about?" Max snapped. "Did you ever consider the fact that I might be sick and tired of 'life-or-death' situations? Maybe just once I'd like to worry about normal things."

"Like what?" he asked quietly, although he knew the answer.

"Like when bills are due, if I'll have enough money to fix the car, or if the lawn needs mowing. Not if I'll be a widow at the end of the day, if today is my last, or what new threat is going to try and kill us." Max replied, sighing. "I just can't do that all over again."

Evan was silent, knowing that the last few years, hell the last few _months_, hadn't been easy on her; on both of them. Stretching across the table, he placed a hand on top of hers and said, "Just promise me that you'll think about it."

Max pulled her hand away from Evan's and stood, "I've already made up my mind, let me know when you've made yours." She then walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs towards their bedroom.

By the time Evan made his way into their room she had changed into more comfortable clothes and was curled up in their bed, watching a movie. Sitting down next to her, Lorne propped up his leg and shifted until he was close to her. "Hey." He said softly, brushing a lock of hair from her face.

"Hmm?" she asked, not pulling her eyes away from the screen.

"We need to talk."

Max looked at him and saw that he was serious, "About what?"

"About the Project. I think that it could be great for us, get back out there and see all sorts of new stuff. I mean, what can you do after Pegasus? Everything else seems…ordinary."

"But I _want_ to be ordinary." Max looked at him while saying, "But I think the question is do you?"


	24. Drifting apart?

A/N: I blame this chapter and the next one on Reefgirl; she gave me the bunny for them and it wouldn't leave me alone. Review!

"MOM!"

Max sighed and straightened up, hand on her back as she did. It seemed that at times she couldn't have peace for five minutes. "Coming." She walked down the stairs towards the living room where the call had come from. "What's wrong?"

"It's not working!" Miranda protested, frowning.

"What isn't?"

"The light. I'm thinking 'turn on' but it isn't."

A smile appeared as she realized what her daughter was trying to do. While Miranda had the ATA gene it wasn't as strong as Evan's so she had to concentrate a bit for it to work. She had loved it on Atlantis because she could turn on a light in a room without having to stretch.

When John had learned that Miranda had the gene he was thrilled and wanted to teach her how to pilot a Jumper (much to Max's displeasure and Evan's glee) but they had left before the promise could be fulfilled. "That's because you need to flip the switch, Munchkin." Max stated as she turned the light on.

"Oh." Miranda looked like the simple action was something new and strange. "Why won't it turn on when I think it?"

"Because not everyone has the gene here, and those that do don't know about it." Max explained as she heard the door open and close. Not long after it did, Anglia appeared with Devon not far behind her.

Max looked at her children and was glad that they were finally getting used to life on Earth. It hadn't been easy for any of them; they had to get used to being around more people, not being surrounded by water, and the fact that no one around them knew about the Stargate system or that Atlantis even existed. It had been easier for Max and Evan; they had grown up around the things here and while it took some getting used to again it felt like they had been on an extended vacation.

But it was harder for the children who had never seen things only found on Earth and as Max had just been reminded of, they hadn't completely made the transition yet even though they had been back for six months already.

"How was school?" Max asked as Anglia and Devon dumped their bookbags on the floor.

"Same old." Anglia replied, crossing the living room floor towards the kitchen. "I still think I learned more by trading off world then in a stuffy classroom."

"Well you only have a few more years of high school then you can decide if you still want to join up or go to college."

Anglia shrugged in response and, after grabbing something to drink, thundered up the stairs to her room. Max smiled and chuckled softly as music could be heard from behind the closed door.

Devon left a few minutes after his sister, heading for sports practice. As Max watched him head out with his gear she was glad that they both were fitting in, even if they still missed Pegasus. Max did as well but she missed the Athosians more than Atlantis itself. The floating city had become synonymous with all the pain and worry she had gone through while over there.

True there had been good moments; when she met Evan, coming back after the Ancients had kicked them out, enjoying a sun-filled day with her family, running the school. But the bad shrouded the good.

"When's daddy comin' home?"

The question drew Max out of her thoughts and she saw that Miranda had moved from her spot on the floor to next to her. "Tonight Munchkin, he'll be back tonight." Max sighed.

Evan's leg had eventually healed and he went back to the SGC, heading up his own team much like he did on Atlantis. He had turned down the Ninth Chevron Project and seemed to be content to going off world every few days but Max could tell that he wasn't happy.

--

Max opened her eyes in time to see someone start towards the door. Sitting up she rubbed her eyes while mumbling, "'llo?" The person in question stopped and turned towards her and she saw that it was Kevin. Pulling the sheet up she gave her friend a confused smile while asking, "What are you doing here?"

Kevin stepped closer towards Max, "I was just coming on duty, happened to glance at the maternity roster and saw your name. Just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing."

"Tired. Having twins really wears you out." Max replied, feeling her cheeks heat up as she spoke.

Kevin gave a soft laugh while nodding his head. "Two boys from what I hear. Congratulations."

"Thanks, although I don't know if that's a good thing." Max replied stifling a yawn. "What time is it?"

"Around nine in the morning. What time did you come in?"

Max was silent, wracking her still sleeping brain. "Three…I think."

"Ouch…I bet Evan wasn't happy about that."

Max was silent, not knowing how to respond to the comment. Afternoon had turned to evening and Evan hadn't come home. Eventually he had called but only to say that he was stuck at the SGC and he didn't know when he'd be home. She had woken up at two-thirty with contractions and saw that he still hadn't come back. "Anglia actually came with me." She replied softly, staring at the floor as she spoke.

Right away Kevin realized he should have known better. After all things were busy as ever at the SGC, with the remaining Ori stirring up more trouble than usual, and while he had only been back for a few months he knew that they weren't going to calm down anytime soon.

Max picked up on the awkwardness that her last statement had brought and rushed to get rid of it, "Doctor Grey said that she'd call him later on."

Kevin forced a smile, "That's good." A quick glance at his watch told him that he needed to get back to his rounds. "I need to be heading off, is it alright if I stop by later on?"

Max smiled as she nodded her head, "Yeah…I'd like that."

--

"I'm going out for awhile." Max said as she picked up her keys and bag.

"'K." Anglia replied, not looking up from her book. "Where are you going again?"

Max raised an eyebrow while saying, "Out. Jack and David are sleeping, and Miranda is across the street playing. Just check on your brothers every so often. Dad'll be home later, but I should make it back before him."

"Most likely." Anglia muttered, scowling.

Max ignored the comment and walked out of the house, towards the car. They had finally caved and got a mini-van, although Evan wouldn't give up his bike or mustang and refused to drive the van; muttering something about 'hell freezing over'.

The drive to the café wasn't that long and soon Max was waiting for Kevin. They had been meeting for coffee a few times a week, talking about whatever and becoming closer friends as time passed.

With Evan always at the SGC or flying out to Washington every so often Max found herself alone more than ever and slipping into a world controlled by Sesame Street, Play-Doh, tears, scrapped knees, and subtle grasp of the English language.

The times she met with Kevin was a lifeline; it was a chance to act like a normal adult and he actually cared about what was going on in her life, not just popping in and out at odd intervals.

They were only friends; Kevin was now married and they were both happy with their spouses (at least Max knew that Kevin was with Jenna...she wasn't so sure about her and Evan) but found solace with each other. Both of them stopped at the line between friends and lovers, having no desire to cross it.

"Been waiting long?" Kevin asked, sitting down across from Max.

She looked at him and shook her head while lighting up, "No, just got here actually."

"That's good." Kevin held out an envelope towards her. "For you. Happy early birthday."

"You didn't." Max replied while smiling. It was plain envelope, no hint of what might be inside. Wondering what was inside, she opened it and gasped. "How did you know I liked Blue Oyster Cult?" she asked taking out two concert tickets.

Kevin grinned while responding, "You mentioned them a few times and I talked to Lydia. That's not them; obviously, just a tribute band, but they still play all of BOC's songs."

"I'm surprised." Max said, laughing lightly while tucking the tickets back into the envelope and putting it into her bag. "There are two tickets."

"I was thinking Evan could go with you...or whoever you wanted to take."

Max put a hand on top of Kevin's and looked him in the eye, "I'd like to take you."

"You sure?" Kevin replied, wondering if they were starting something that they'd both regret later on.

Max nodded, "I'm sure."

--

It was strange that things suddenly went from reaching the boiling point to hardly a simmer. The remaining Ori had been continually making trouble for the SGC and Earth, with things escalating each time but then all it stopped and everyone found themselves with a much lighter work load.

Being head of his own team had its downsides though; he needed to worry about team rotations, his teammates, and sit thought endless meetings. While he had done similar things while on Atlantis it wasn't too much of a shift, but it also meant he had less time for Max and the kids. He was still beating himself up over not being at the hospital when Jack and David were born and at times hated the fact that he was only home long enough to shower and get a change of clothes before leaving again. It seemed like Miranda and the others were growing up too fast and he as much as he wanted to turn back the clock, he couldn't.

That's why when things calmed down and Ames asked if he wanted to take the afternoon off he jumped at the chance. It was their anniversary tomorrow and he had swung it so he'd get off at a decent time for once and act like a normal married couple for once; hire a babysitter, go out to dinner, etc.

Since they'd been married six years he wanted to do something different, but was at a loss as to what. Then he remembered that six was the "gummy bear" anniversary and that had given him inspiration. So after leaving the mountain he headed into town to the local sweet shop to get the candy.

It was one of those rare beautiful fall days with the sun shining, just the right amount of clouds in the sky, and enough breeze to make it just the right amount of heat. The trip didn't take too long and since it was such a nice day, Evan decided to walk around for a bit after stowing his purchases in the saddlebags.

Walking down the street he marveled at the fact at how normal he felt at the moment. It had been a long time since Lorne had felt something like this and enjoyed it.

But he still missed Atlantis.

It got under your skin, it was hard to explain to someone who'd never been there but it was true. Atlantis was _definitely_ sentient and became a part of you while you it. It was something that you got used to and missed when you left it. Sometimes he woke up at night thinking he heard the familiar hum that the city had but realized that it was all in his head.

Lorne tried to get used to living on Earth again, he really did, but he felt like he was slowly going crazy. When he signed up with the SGC and Expedition he did it not because they needed him in Pegasus but because he wanted to do something that had never been done, to see exciting things…to live.

But he was married now, with a family and needed to think of them. Max had made it clear that she had more than enough of Atlantis and wanted something normal for a change. That's why he didn't fight it when he had been reassigned back to the SGC.

His cell phone rang, jarring him out of his thoughts. Stopping Evan pulled it out, "Lorne here."

"_Colonel, I've got some good news for you._"

"Yes sir?" Evan asked, continuing to walk down the street.

"_How'd you like to-_"

General Ames' voice cut out as Evan stopped short and stared at the scene he was looking at across the street.

"Sorry sir," He said in a distracted voice. "something's come up." He then hung up before he could hear the General's reply.

Still staring, he tried to comprehend what he was seeing at the coffee shop.

Max was sitting across from Kevin.

With her hand on his.


	25. It's not supposed to be easy

Kevin walked out into the parking garage, heading towards his car. It had been a long shift and he was looking forwards to a nice relaxing evening with Jenna. His car was at the very end of the level and as he was halfway across he noticed that there was someone leaning against it.

Heart rate increasing he considered heading back into the hospital and getting an SF to accompany him, but realized that if the person wished him harm they would have acted all ready. But that still didn't assuage his fears.

Footsteps echoing in the almost-empty level, Kevin continued towards his car. When he was near enough Pierce saw that the person in question was Lorne. "Colonel this is a surprise." he said unlocking his car. "Something I can do for you?"

"Yeah you could say that." Evan replied casually, unfolding himself and standing. "You can leave Max alone."

"I'm sorry?" Kevin asked, raising an eyebrow and wondering what Evan was talking about.

"You heard me." Evan said, scowling. "We were happy until you came back and decided to screw with everything." Lorne moved closer towards Kevin and said in a low voice, "If I somehow find out that you've been seeing her after this I can't guarantee that I'll keep my temper. So I'll tell you one last time; Leave. Max. Alone."

Kevin was stunned.

Obviously Evan had the wrong idea about them but before he could explain Evan had hopped into his car and sped off. Numbly he watched the tail lights disappear until he was left alone again.

--

Max heard the door close and called out, "Evan?"

"Yeah?" he called out, taking off his jacket. He had just gotten back from his visit with Kevin and was debating his next move. Obviously she required a gentler touch than Kevin did.

Walking into the foyer she scowled, "What the _hell_ is wrong with you?!"

"What?" he asked, having no idea what he had done to make her like this. Well...he _did_ it's just that he had hoped that Pierce would make up some excuse and leave out the fact that Evan had 'persuaded' him on the course of action.

Apparently he was wrong.

"I just got a call from Kevin. He said that you threatened to hurt him if he saw me again." Max folded her arms onto her chest and raised an eyebrow. "Tell me why it would possess you to do something like that."

"Because he needed to know what I'd do if I caught him with you again." Evan replied, realizing he'd finally learn why she had been seeing someone else. "I have to admit that you hid it pretty good, I didn't even know about it until last week."

"Hiding what?" Max asked confused and wondering what he was talking about.

"Your affair with Kevin."

Max raised an eyebrow and looked at Evan like he'd just told her that dolphins could fly. "My affair?" she echoed.

"I saw you two at the coffee shop holding hands." Evan said, feeling his blood boil at the mention of what he had seen then.

Max's eyes went wide as she realized what he meant. "You're kidding right?"

"Unfortunately no. " Evan stated, looking at Max. "What I want to know is why?"

"First of all, I haven't been having an affair-" Max started to reply but Evan cut her off.

"Then what _do_ you call it?" he yelled, running a hand through his hair. "Damn it Max, I know that you haven't been happy with the hours I've been keeping but to go and screw around with some other guy just because we haven't had time for each other is frickin' crazy."

"How many times do I have to repeat myself? I'm _not_ having an affair with Kevin." Max snapped, starting to get angry herself. "He's just a friend. A **friend**, Evan. We meet for coffee a couple times a week and talk. It's harmless, I swear."

"If it's harmless then how come you didn't tell me about it?"

Max sighed and fought the urge to roll her eyes, "I didn't tell you because first of all you're never home and second of all I didn't think you'd care."

"Well I do. Is there anything else you've been hiding from me?"

"So you still don't trust me is that it? God Evan, I thought we'd put that behind us years ago."

"We had until you started sneaking around."

"I was _not_ sneaking around." Max snapped.

"So if I ask Anglia and Devon where you've been going what are they going to say?" Evan asked, folding his arms while looking at Max. "That they know about your time with Kevin or that you simply disappear for a few hours?"

Max was silent and avoided his gaze, knowing that the answer she'd give would make it seem like she really was sneaking about. "I wasn't sneaking." She repeated softly, eyes filling with tears.

Her silence spoke volumes to Evan and that only confirmed what he had already known. Letting out a frustrated sigh he asked, "Then what was it?"

"I **told** you, just coffee between friends. Look at me Evan." She said, taking his hands and staring straight into his eyes. "Look at me and see if I'm lying."

He stared into her eyes and saw that she was telling the truth, but that still didn't ease the hurt that he felt. "Why?"

"Because you're never around. We hardly see you anymore and it's like I have an invisible husband." Blinking back tears she continued, "Kevin was there for me; he was the first person to visit me after having Jack and David and made me feel like an adult and not just the person who is around all day taking care of the house and kids while cleaning up messes."

"You think I _like_ being stuck at the mountain when I'd rather be at home with my family?" Evan asked, pulling his hands from her grasp. "It's not like I can just go and ask General Ames to cut back my missions or to reschedule the alien invasion so it fits perfectly with our life." He snapped, picking up his jacket and putting it back on. "And don't make me choose Max. Not again."

Not waiting for a response Evan stormed out of the house and towards his bike.

Max had been stunned by Evan's last statement and watched him drive away, wondering how they were going to fix things this time.

--

"You still here Colonel?"

Evan looked up from the pile of paperwork he was trying to make a dent in and saw General Ames in the doorway. "Yes sir." He said, starting to stand.

Ames dismissed the movement with a wave, "Thought you decided to leave early today."

"Had a lot of paperwork, sir." Evan replied, sitting back down as the General sat down in the chair across from his desk. "Though I'd try to wade through it."

Ames just nodded his head and smiled, knowing the real reason Lorne was in his office. He'd gotten into plenty of fights with his wife over the years and almost every time he walked out of the house angry he'd always end up back at the office, using that anger to get through paperwork. "I have some good news for you Colonel."

"Really sir?" Evan asked, raising an eyebrow while wondering what it could be.

"I do. Tried to tell you the other week when something came up on your side and then we got so busy around here I forgot about it until now. I was going to leave you a note but since you're here I might as well tell you in person."

--

Evan pulled into the driveway and cut the engine, while still trying to process the news that Ames had given him. He still wasn't quite sure if it was good or bad news…he guessed that it all depended on how you looked at it.

Closing the door he spotted bags by the door and swallowed hard. "Max?"

No one answered him and a quick search of the main level revealed that he was alone. "Anyone home?" he called out after clearing his throat. This time he was rewarded with the sound of feet thudding towards the stairs and he reached the foot in time to see Anglia coming down. "Where's mom?" he asked, looking past her.

"Upstairs. Where've you been?" Anglia asked, brushing back her hair and pulling it into a ponytail.

"Work." Evan replied slightly distracted, moving past Anglia and up the stairs. But he wasn't so distracted that he missed the flash of color on her skin. "Whoa, what's that?" Lorne asked, looking at the image and raising an eyebrow. "Is that a tattoo?"

"Relax it's a henna." Anglia said, smirking. "You know, 'cause you won't let me get a real one."

"Uhuh…we'll talk later." Evan said, moving up the stairs and towards their room. Seeing Max putting things in a suitcase, his heart thudded. She turned around just as he walked up to her and he kissed her hard, not wanting her to leave.

To say that Max was surprised would be an understatement. She was absolutely stunned when Evan suddenly appeared behind her and kissed her for all that he was worth. "Mmm…what's that for?" She asked, gently pushing Evan away.

"I don't want you to leave." Evan said, looking into her eyes. "I feel horrible that I haven't been there for you and the kids. That'll change from now on. Just...don't leave."

Max looked at him for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.

Evan was confused; he hadn't been expecting the kind of reaction that he was getting. "What's funny?" he asked, scratching his head.

Max just laughed some more and sat on the bed, shaking her head. Finally the laughter subsided enough that she could talk. "You thought…with the bags…oh Evan you're hopeless."

"Uh…thank you?"

Max took a deep breath and slowly let it out, lips still twisted into a smile, "I _am_ leaving. But I'll be back."

"You will?" Evan asked, becoming even more confused with this recent revelation.

"Yup." Max supplied, standing and resuming her packing. "I'm flying out to see Lydia and Alex, remember?"

The light switch flipped on in Evan's mind and he felt like a fool for forgetting. "Oh." Evan said, feeling his cheeks heat up with embarrassment. "That's right."

"Ang is gonna drive me and Devon's watching the twins and Miranda's across the street playing. I left everything you might need to know on the table and Angila promised that she'd help you out so don't let her leave you in a bind." Max replied, stuffing the last of the clothes into the bag and closing it. "That's it."

"Here I got it." Evan got up and grasped the handle before Max could.

As they walked down the stairs Max asked, "What did you mean by 'that'll change from now on'?"

"Well…I got some news from General Ames." Evan stated calmly, setting the suitcase down and turning to look at Max.

"And…"

"How do you feel about Wales?"

"Why?" Max asked looking at Evan strangely. Something wasn't quite right but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Evan ran a hand through his hair suddenly uncomfortable, "Well…I'm being transferred there."

Max gaped at Evan, trying to comprehend the news that he had just given her. "What?" she asked, sitting down sharply on the stairs.

Evan opened his mouth to explain everything but then Anglia yelled, "Mom! Time go or you'll miss your flight!"

Sighing, he helped Max to her feet and said, "I'll call you later and explain everything."

"Like hell you are." Max said, stopping and folding her arms while looking at Evan. "I'm not going anywher until you explain everything. And I mean _everything_."

Evan sighed, he knew that there wasn't enough time to tell her everything and still have her make her flight. "Fine," he said, picking up her bag with one hand and taking her hand with the other. "I'll drive you to the airport."


	26. Epilogue

"Is this how you're trying to fix things?" Max asked as she got out of the car. "You want us to move half-way across the world for some job that you know nothing about?"

"No this isn't how I want to fix things, but I think that it'd be good for us to go somewhere different for a change." Evan said, getting out of the car as well and walking back to the trunk to pull out Max's luggage. "And I know a little about the job; but I can't tell you."

"You want something different, what about California or New York? _That's _different and we don't have to leave the continent." Max looked at Evan as he set her suitcase and carry-on down. "And why can't you tell me? I have clearance."

"I know you do, but this is beyond your clearance. Hell, I had to agree to the job before I got the entire story."

Max sighed, "But how are we going to do everything in the space of three months? We have to put the house on the market, find a place there, pack everything, ship it, unpack, find schools for the kids…" Max trailed off, a worried expression appearing on her face. "Maybe I shouldn't go; we need to start right away."

"Hey," Evan replied, kissing Max lightly on the forehead. "_you_ are getting on that plane and enjoying time with your friends. I'll contact a realtor tomorrow and I'm sure that Torchwood-" Evan cut off when he realized that he had just given away where he'd be working. "_There goes 'it's a secret, don't tell anyone'._"

"Torchwood? What's Torchwood?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow. After seeing Evan's expression she continued, "That's where you're working isn't it?"

"Shhh…I don't know if they have anyone listening." Evan said softly while taking Max's hand. "Yes that's where I'm working, it's in Cardiff, but you need to swear that you won't tell anyone; I wasn't even supposed to tell you."

Max looked Evan in his eyes and saw that he was serious. "I promise." She replied, nodding her head but was concerned by the fact that Evan didn't know if anyone from there was following them. All that told her is how they did things; maybe Torchwood was another NID or Trust. If that was the case, she hoped that he wouldn't get in too deep before the history with both those organizations repeated.

"Good." Evan gave her one last quick kiss. "I'll see you in a few days."

Three months later…

"So explain to me again exactly why you're moving to the far side of the world?" Lydia asked as she taped a box shut.

Max stood up with a pile of clothes in her arms and walked towards the box she was currently filling while saying, "Because it's a 'we'll trade you one of ours for one of yours' kind of thing. Ames had free reign over who he got to choose so that's saying a lot on Evan's part." Max paused and was silent for a minute before adding, "Maybe after this he'll get a better assignment."

Lydia raised an eyebrow at the last comment but chose not to say anything about it. "But still…you'd think that they'd just switch them out on Atlantis."

"True, but from what Evan told me before leaving is that General Carter felt that Gwen, the person from there, wasn't quite up for another galaxy." Max responded as she closed the flaps on the box and taped it shut. "Besides," she paused giving the room a quick once over before leaning forwards and continuing in a low tone. "Evan told me in not so many words that Cardiff is every bit as exciting as Atlantis."

"Oooo," Lydia breathed, eyes lighting up. "now you have to tell me what that means."

"Not sure." Max shrugged, standing and picking up the box. "I just told you everything I know."

"Fat lot that does." Lydia groused, picking up her box as well. As they moved into the hallway and down the stairs she continued, "Do you even know what Evan is going to do? You're not living on any kind of military base, you had to rent an apartment for christssake, and you don't even know _where_ he's working."

"I know." Max lied. She ached to tell her friend what she knew but had promised Evan that she wouldn't. She had said too much all ready without actually saying anything at all and Max didn't know how much she needed to push before she got busted. "He said that it was beyond my clearance level."

"Beyond your clearance level?" Lydia asked, sounding skeptical as she said it. "_My_ clearance level is higher than yours and I have no idea what's in Cardiff."

"I guess it's a bigger secret then the Stargate."

"Apparently. So when does your flight leave?"

"Lemme, check." Max said, setting her box down and walking to where the tickets were being kept. "It leaves at…eleven for New York then after an hour layover we change plans for Cardiff International."

"An hour layover…sounds like fun." Lydia deadpanned. "And why do you have to take a plane? Couldn't the _Valiant_ or _Daedalus_ beam you guys and everything over?"

"I wish but no. Evan no longer works for the SGC but doesn't work for the British government quite yet so we have to find our own way over. But hopefully it won't seem like the eternity it sounds like."

Lydia rolled her eyes and muttered what the SGC and British government could do to themselves while Max just giggled. "Just promise me that you're not gonna pull a Madonna and suddenly spout an accent."

Max laughed as she pulled two sodas from the refrigerator, "I promise I won't be getting an accent any time soon. Hopefully I'll still sound like I'm an extra from 'Fargo'."

"What about work?" Lydia asked, after taking a sip. "I know that Evan's gonna get paid pretty well for this but somehow I don't see you becoming a 'June Cleaver'."

Max shrugged, "He doesn't want me to work while we're over there, said that I'd have my hands full enough just taking care of the apartment and kids but we'll see."

---

Evan stepped onto the tarmac of the airstrip and looked around. There wasn't much to see; a medium sized building (which he guessed was the airport itself) with the small air traffic controller tower and four runways with a large hanger at the end of the fourth runway.

All of which was surrounded by fields.

Torchwood had needed him a month earlier than originally expected, so he had to leave Max with the kids and to finish up closing the house and packing alone while he got to work here and got their apartment set up.

They had tried to find a house big enough for all seven of them in town but what they did find was out of their price range and a fair distance from town. Even with what they had saved over the years and what he was now getting paid they couldn't afford it, and Evan needed to stay in Cardiff for Torchwood so they found the biggest apartment they _could_ afford and rented it for a year.

Evan knew that since this was between two secret government projects then he wouldn't be flown in on military transport but thought that he'd be arriving in Cardiff itself, not some out of the way airfield. But this is where he had been told that someone from Torchwood would meet him.

"Colonel Lorne?"

The question broke Evan out of his thoughts and he looked towards the voice, which sounded oddly American.

"Yes?" he asked, looking at the man who had brown hair and was dressed in what looked like a World War II RAF outfit. He looked vaguely familiar to Evan, but he couldn't remember where he'd seen the man.

"Captain Jack Harkness." Jack said, smiling and sticking out his hand.

When Evan heard the name everything clicked. Smiling he shook Jack's hand while saying, "It's been a while Captain. What are you doing here?"

A/N: The End! (well at least for this story)

Want to learn the answer as to how Lorne knows Jack? Keep watch for my Torchwood/Doctor Who/Stargate Atlantis crossover, which'll appear as soon as I find the time to start working on it (which should be sometime in the near future...like tomorrow). Reviews are love, and thanks/cookies to everyone who left one.


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